FEATURE: The Lockdown Playlist: Jimi Hendrix Fire

FEATURE:

 

 

The Lockdown Playlist

PHOTO CREDIT: David Montgomery 

Jimi Hendrix Fire

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ON this day (27th November)…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Linda McCartney/National Portrait Gallery/Smithsonian Institution

seventy-eight years ago, the genius Jimi Hendrix came into the world. Although we lost him at the age of twenty-seven in 1970, the music he left has inspired scores of guitarists. Recording with The Jimi Hendrix Experience, and  Jimi Hendrix/Band of Gypsys, Hendrix’s vocabulary and dexterity on the guitar is immense! I wanted to put together a Lockdown Playlist on his birthday containing album tracks, live cuts, in addition to rarer tracks that many people might not have heard of. In his short life, Hendrix laid down so many staggering works and, to me, he was an underrated singer. His voice is so commanding, expressive and versatile and that, combined with his guitar and Noel Redding (bass), and Mitch Mitchell (percussion) – in The Jimi Hendrix Experience -, led to some truly wonderful music. To tip my cap to, perhaps, the greatest guitarist who has ever lived, here are some epic Hendrix licks, jams and guitar explosions that displays his…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Mike Berkofsky

ENDLESS talent.

FEATURE: Let the Record Show: The Ongoing Boom of Vinyl Sales and How It Could Lead to a Growth on the High Street

FEATURE:

 

Let the Record Show

PHOTO CREDIT: @amartino20/Unsplash 

The Ongoing Boom of Vinyl Sales and How It Could Lead to a Growth on the High Street

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I am going to do a related Lockdown Playlist…

 PHOTO CREDIT: @amartino20/Unsplash

that combines songs from the forty best-selling vinyl albums of this year as, whilst other areas of the economic map are struggling and businesses are closing, things are looking rosy for vinyl and record shops. Whereas things are a bit fraught regarding venues and other sides of the music industry, it is clear that people have a huge appetite for vinyl. It is not just vinyl that is on the rise: cassette sales are also increasing and, in a year when streaming services are being criticised for not paying artists enough, more and more people are paying money for vinyl records. The Guardian reports some good news:

“UK sales of vinyl records are set to reach a three-decade high as fans unable to attend live music events during the pandemic channel their spare cash into building up their record collections.

Vinyl sales are up almost 10% this year, well on track to break the £100m mark by the end of 2020, making for the best year since 1990 when Sinead O’Connor and New Kids on the Block topped the charts. Sales by volume are also set to beat last year’s 4.3m.

It marks a remarkable bounce back given the market for physical music, from vinyl and CDs to cassettes and DVDs, plunged by almost half in April as the first lockdown shut high streets across the nation.

“We have seen 250% growth from the bottom of lockdown to where we are now,” said Drew Hill, managing director of Proper Music, the UK’s biggest independent distributor of vinyl and CDs. “I thought it could be catastrophic for the industry but during lockdown the kind of people buying records also probably went to a lot of gigs. They can’t do that so it seems fans are spending the money they used to on going to gigs each month on records.” Last week, Kylie Minogue wound back the years as Disco topped the vinyl album chart.

PHOTO CREDIT: @iampatrickpilz 

The pandemic has also fuelled the ongoing revival of cassettes, with sales up 85% so far this year, putting total sales on course to top £1m for the first time since renewed interest wound back the years for the format.

However, the picture is much less rosy for CDs, already facing inexorable decline at the hands of the streaming revolution, with sales down 30% in the year to date, according to the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA). If that trend continues in the final weeks of this year CD sales will reach about £150m, the worst year since 1987.

Natasha Youngs, co-owner of Brighton-based record store Resident, said that owners have worked hard to shift sales online but it has proven difficult given vinyl fans’ love of the in-store browsing experience.

“We’ve had to adapt our business to provide our customers with as close to a normal service as possible and customers have really responded,” said Youngs. “As a result our online sales are considerably up year on year. But this in no way compensates for the sales we have lost over the counter. We can’t provide the face-to-face service that we pride ourselves on – it is missing a vital element of what a record shop is all about”.

I was worried, when the pandemic started, that we would lose so many record shops and there would be this depletion on the high street. Instead, many have offered online deliveries - and this has kept them in business.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @rocinante_11/Unsplash

For many record shops, they have seen sales increase hugely and, thanks to Record Store Day being split over three different days, shops have seen huge queues and enormous demand! I think this popularity and craving for vinyl will continue into next year. As things improve and we start to see a return to normality, I think more and more people will come out and support their local record stores. Thinking about the report and how sales are rising, I wonder whether this will lead to a revival in the high street. At the moment, rent prices are forcing many record shops away - and that is still an issue they face. I am thinking about chains like HMV that have seen shops close, and I think that there could be this new demand that sees many reopen. Of course, vinyl sales alone cannot save and sustain chains like HMV, but it would be wonderful to see new independents open because, at the moment, I know it can be hard locating a nearby record shop. Look at central London and, maybe because of extortionate rent prices, it is really hard finding a record shop! That is the case with many cities but, because vinyl sales are exploding, there is a possibility that the revenue from sales could cover rent prices were there to be new shops opening. It is definitely heartening to see so many record stores survive and report great trading.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @rocinante_11/Unsplash

Few would have anticipated this during a pandemic but, rather than this being benevolence and people supporting shops through some sense of guilt, there is just this genuine love of vinyl and desire to support artists. Though the browsing experience is a little different this year, that has not put people going to their local record shop and inspecting the racks! I do think that digital music is great but, in terms of sound quality and the listening experience, nothing can replace vinyl. Alongside this, cassettes are seeing a resurgence…so it is strangely like going back in time! I do think it would be wise of the Government to think about the rental prices and how businesses are struggling. I am not the only one who would welcome new record shops on high streets. Online ordering is convenient, but the sensation and process of going to a record store and spending time selecting vinyl is unbeatable! Going forward, and I think there will be a further increase in vinyl sales as we head to Christmas. In a year of bad news and disappointment, having some good news and cheer is definitely inspiring. Let’s hope that the rise in vinyl sales continues into 2021. In the run-up to Christmas, be sure to support your local record shops(s) by picking up some great vinyl and…

 PHOTO CREDIT: @jamessutton_photography/Unsplash

PUTTING the needle down.

FEATURE: Open to Interpretation: Envisaging a Kate Bush Covers Album

FEATURE:

 

 

Open to Interpretation

IN THIS PHOTO: Solange Knowles has covered Kate Bush during her live performances 

Envisaging a Kate Bush Covers Album

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JUST recently…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1982/PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush

I put out a feature into the world that suggested why, at a time like now, we need more Kate Bush projects in the world. I have kicked around the idea of a new Kate Bush covers album because, in 2020, there has been a lot more attention and love for her music. There are cover albums online like this one, and there has been a reissue of an older covers compilation. These collections are great and, whilst they do put new spins on familiar songs, I do think that there is a chance to have a new and more expansive collection. Maybe recording one for a charity like Crisis – which Bush herself is a supporter of -, there are so many artists out there influenced by her work that have either not covered her work live or versions of Bush’s songs have not appeared on any of their albums - a percentage of the proceeds would go to the charity, whereas the rest would cover the recording and other costs/go to Bush herself. I mooted recently how it would be great if someone like John Grant tackled a song such as The Man with the Child in His Eyes (from The Kick Inside, 1978) - as I adore his voice - but, really, there is an ocean of choice regarding artists and songs! Everyone from Rufus Wainwright, Anna Calvi, Mica Paris, Guy Garvey, St. Vincent, Madonna, Emma Pollack, Field Music, Björk, Big Boi, Charli XCX, Regina Spektor, Beth Orton, Florence Welch, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Billie Marten, Ellie Goulding, KT Tunstall, Alison Moyet, Grace Jones, Gemma Hayes, Boy George, Hayden Thorpe, Bat for Lashes, Stevie Nicks, PJ Harvey, London Grammar, Bright Lights, Elton John, Bright Lights, Annie Lennox, First Aid Kit (who covered Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) live) and Brett Anderson have been influenced by Kate Bush in some form - or cite her music as important (Saint Saviour covered Army Dreamers a few years back and it blew me away!). One can keep that list going - and some curveballs like IDLES or some unknown artists mixing in the pack would add some definite variety! - but, whilst they have talked about her and, in some form, write their music with a bit of Bush in the mix, there have not been a lot of covers - maybe it seems odd covering Bush’s songs on their own albums.

Over the past year, there have been a few Kate Bush covers from some lesser-known artists and, through the years, everyone from The Futureheads and Placebo have taken on Bush’s catalogue. Maybe people think that it is a bit intimidating covering her music and it seems a bit daunting. I can appreciate that! Consider the vocal sounds and pitch on The Kick Inside and it would be hard to reinvent the songs on that album and retain the beauty and original wonder. I think albums such as The Dreaming have so much invention and different vocal sounds on them; that opens the door for artists to have a look and give particular songs a new slant. Bush reworked some of her songs on Director’s Cut in 2011 but, even though she focused on tracks from The Sensual World, and The Red Shoes, I still think other artists could take those songs and put their own print on them. There are lesser-known Bush tracks and B-sides that could be given a fresh boost and, when you look at the sheer number of artists who owe a nod to Bush – including Tricky, Neil Hannon, The Anchoress, k.d. lang, FKA twigs, Little Boots, Perfume Genius, and Alison Goldfrapp -, I would love to hear what they do with some of her songs! Also, Peter Gabriel has recorded with Kate Bush a few times, and it would be wonderful to see what he would do with one of her songs! Maybe there would be a battle over particular songs that many people would want to cover – including Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) -, but it would be fascinating hearing diverse artists take these songs to new places.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Tricky

I don’t think one can be precious when it comes to artists covering icons and, whilst I am not completely sold on some of the Kate Bush cover versions that have been put out, there have been some good attempts! There are articles like this and this that rank the covers and, looking at those names, and I would particularly like to hear Solange’s cover of Cloudbusting (that she performed at Coachella in 2014), and Tori Amos’ take on And Dream Of Sheep from her live set put on a record! Hearing studio versions of these tracks alongside rising artists and familiar names bringing together a covers album would be awesome! I think of it more as a tribute to her because, as there has not been a documentary for a few years, I think a covers albums would show what love there is for Bush from so many different artists. One might have to put out a double album - and I can easily imagine around about twenty-five/thirty or so worthy and stunning covers from a selection of brilliant musicians (maybe a selection of artists could each take a song from Hounds of Love’s The Ninth Wave?). Maybe it would need to be on several vinyl records, but I think a lot of people would buy it and, as I said, a proportion of proceeds could go to Crisis. Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) is a song that Chromatics, Placebo, and First Aid Kit have all covered and, whilst their versions are brilliant, there would be room for another. It would take a great producer to bring everyone together and, whilst Kate Bush herself would not do it (that would be weird), I think the legendary Tony Visconti would be perfect; there was a brief moment before Bush produced The Dreaming herself when Visconti’s name was in the frame - Bush admired Visconti’s production and his work with David Bowie especially.

There are so many songs that have not been covered so, for that reason, it would be interesting to see what artists come up with. Of course, I would urge people to hear the original Bush recordings - but a tribute/covers albums could be a way in for many people. I will keep this short but, whilst one does not want to overload the market with Kate Bush-related products to an extent, I think there would be huge demand at a time when Bush’s music is as popular as at any other time! Maybe an album could collect together studio recordings others have done of her tracks, but I think wiping the slate clean and inviting a range of artists to take on songs fresh in the studio would be better. I have not really opened this up to people to see what the opinion is but, with no real contemporary tribute album to her, there is definitely a gap in the market. One could dream of which artist could take which song, but I’d love to hear a new recording of St. Vincent doing Hounds of Love, or Tricky taking on Breathing – both artists talked about these tracks in the BBC documentary of 2014, The Kate Bush Story: Running Up That Hill. Maybe it could be a possibility after the pandemic has died a little and it could mean artists could get to the same studio – Abbey Road Studio 2 - or Studio 3 for tighter and more intimate takes - seems like the perfect place (Bush worked at Abbey Road Studios on the albums Never For Ever, The Dreaming, and Hounds of Love in Studio 2, and the orchestral parts for the albums The Sensual World, and The Red Shoes). The plan of getting international artists together might be tricky in terms of cost and logistics but, if most artists could get there and others could do it from different studios, then that could work. Of course, if the recordings have to take place remotely, then that would be fine - it is more about getting the songs down than the importance of where it is recorded. It is a theory/speculative project right now, but a Kate Bush tribute album would open up…

 IN THIS PHOTO: St. Vincent/PHOTO CREDIT: Scandebergs for GQ

SUCH interesting possibilities!

FEATURE: Time and Time Again, Line and Line Again: Kate Bush and Acting: Les Dogs, The Line, the Cross and the Curve and Beyond

FEATURE:

 

 

Time and Time Again, Line and Line Again

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 197/PHOTO CREDIT: Gered Mankowitz

Kate Bush and Acting: Les Dogs, The Line, the Cross and the Curve and Beyond

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I have spoken before about…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1993/PHOTO CREDIT: Guido Harari

how film and literature has played a role in Kate Bush’s music through the years. Whilst she was not necessarily a veracious reader, a lot of her best moments were either inspired by literature or a classic text – James Joyce’s Ulysses famously, can be felt through The Sensual World’s title track (it was re-recorded for 2011’s Director’s Cut under the title Flower of the Mountain; Bush was able to include Molly Bloom’s soliloquy from the novel after being granted permission by the estate). Film and T.V., I think, have been a more powerful tool of inspiration for Bush regarding her music. This article from the BFI highlights how horror and the gothic have influenced many of her songs:

“Despite a well-publicised reluctance to perform in front of an audience (with her 2014 Before the Dawn concerts a glorious exception), Kate Bush has embraced film, and many of her music videos are works of art in themselves. ‘Cloudbusting’ may be the most celebrated, an exhilarating and moving short conceived with Terry Gilliam and starring Donald Sutherland, but the video for ‘Experiment IV’ – a darkly comic tale of government conspiracy starring Dawn French, Hugh Laurie, and Bush as a horrific banshee – has to be seen to be believed.

Movies – specifically gothic horror movies – have had an acknowledged influence on Bush’s back catalogue. ‘Hammer Horror’, named after the British production company, tells of a death and subsequent haunting on the film set of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. One of her most unnerving tracks, ‘Waking the Witch’ from Hounds of Love, imagines the drowning of a woman accused of sorcery and seems indebted to Michael Reeves’s Witchfinder General (1968). Sutherland was cast in the ‘Cloudbusting’ video following his appearance in Don’t Look Now (1973), and she borrowed the choral section of ‘Hello Earth’ – the Georgian folk song ‘Tsin Tskaro’ – from Werner Herzog’s remake of Nosferatu (1979)”.

From the powerful imagery of The Shining (film) to an adaptation of Wuthering Heights, Bush has been struck by the screen and she has, in kind, made her videos so powerful and visually arresting. I often look at some of Bush’s videos as little films. From Army Dreamers, to Cloudbusting, she approached her videos almost as films. From Hounds of Love onwards (until 2005’s Aerial), Bush directed/co-directed her videos and put her visual stamp down. I have spoken about her videos before, but I have been re-watching them quite a lot and flipping the view: Kate Bush as an actor in front of the camera. One can say a musician is like an actor in a sense, because they perform in their videos and that involves a lot of the same disciplines an actor would have. This is also true of live performance, where one needs to act and project, both physically and verbally. Despite relatively few live outings, Bush mounted a huge production in 1979 with The Tour of Life, and she did so again with 2014’s Before the Dawn. In her videos, we got different sides to her and these guises are intriguing and so engaging all these years later! If there is a certain amount of acting skill required for live work and videos, I think things are a bit different with something non-musical and straighter.

Especially early in her career, Bush was offered various acting roles, and she was offered a part opposite Oliver Reed in Castaway in 1986 – the role went to Amanda Donohoe. Maybe the idea of being naked with Reed was a bit unwelcome and intimidating, but I do think that she wanted to focus on music. Although Bush’s music has been used in films such as Vampire Diaries, Palm Springs and The Golden Compass, she has not stepped into acting as much as many would have liked. I guess she would have been sent scripts that typecast her a bit, either as a sexual figure or someone who was a bit odd. Maybe people were reacting to her videos, but I wonder how many scripts and treatments came her way for serious roles that would have allowed her to stretch her wings? The reason I bring this up is because I think the little we did see of Bush on screen outside of the music videos is quite powerful and intriguing! Because she did not tour or perform widely between 1979 and 2014, aside from making albums, there would have been this opportunity to take on film and T.V. roles. Bush has this filmic quality, and I think she could have handled a range of different roles. From an old-fashioned Hollywood starlet, an aspiring artist in London (playing herself to an extent), to a vampirical heroine or something meatier, I have been imagining Bush’s IMDB profile being beefed up to include these acting roles!

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush during filming for The Line, The Cross and the Curve in 1993/PHOTO CREDIT: Guido Harari

I know she was offered roles in biopics, and it would have been interesting to see her translate her love of film into bigger acting roles. I will come to a couple of acting roles Bush did undertake, but I have been wondering whether it was the intensity of recording or the lack of appealing roles that kept her away from the small and big screen. Certainly, she had (and has) a charm and allure that would have won critics. Just look at every one of her music videos (where she appeared), and Bush has this radiance and flexibility where she could easily inhabit so many different looks and pull them off! The fact that she went on to direct her videos meant that she wanted to take greater charge in that sense, so maybe working with another director on a film would have been a bit much. Look at people like Lady Gaga and other great artists who appeared in film (including one of her idols, David Bowie) -, and it would have been tantalising to see Bush follow suite. Prince appeared in a Rock musical version of Purple Rain (in the film of the same name), and I often wonder what it would have been like if Bush had done the same with Hounds of Love, or even The Dreaming.

Her albums provoked big visions and possibilities, and I guess music videos are a way of portioning out these performances. Even though Bush did bring Hounds of Love to the stage I a big way in 2014, I think many of her fans would have loved to have seen her in a tasteful and challenging drama; maybe appearing in a crime caper – one similar to her single from The Dreaming, There Goes a Tenner. Bush had a real love of comedy and possessed a flair for the comedic. Her Comic Relief duet with Rowan Atkinson on the song, Do Bears… , shows she did have great comic timing - she would have excelled as a comic actor. Rather than me listing what-ifs and musing, I wanted to bring in a couple of times where Bush engaged in different acting projects – one of which was a short film composed of her own music. One of the things that a lot of people might know is that Bush appeared (in a silent role) in a television film called Les Dogs. As The Kate Bush Encyclopaedia explains and illustrates, it was a very interesting role (and one of two times when Bush worked alongside Miranda Richardson):

“1990 television film written by Peter Richardson and Pete Richens, directed by Peter Richardson, and part of The Comic Strip Presents series of programmes. A wedding photographer becomes enraptured by a bride's beauty, and the story drifts into the surreal realm of his imagination.

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1990 

Kate made her acting debut in the role of bride Angela Watkins in this film; Miranda Richardson and Alexei Sayle portrayed Angela's parents, Tim McInnerny and Julie T. Wallace played her in-laws, and Danny Peacock earned the envy of millions in the role of her newlywed husband while Peter Richardson earned the further envy of millions as her lover.

“Peter Richardson worked on the video [for The Sensual World] and it was a lot of fun, and we stayed in touch as friends. When he was working on The Comic Strip series, I got a script and he asked me if I'd play a part. I felt very honoured to be asked”.

I do really like Bush in Les Dogs, and it is almost a shame that she was not given more responsibility and dialogue. I think she manages to shine on screen without speaking and, as I said earlier, there is this magnetic quality that Bush has! Maybe it is her beauty and dance ability that brings her videos to life like nobody else; perhaps it is her love of film and T.V. that means she has this ambition to tackle various looks and approaches, but I feel Bush is just a natural actor! Three years after Bush appeared in Les Dogs, she was seen in the short film, The Line, the Cross and the Curve.

This was a period where Bush put out an album (The Red Shoes), but there was a lot of personal loss and stress that meant she could not fully commit to other roles. As actor, writer and director of The Line, the Cross and the Curve, there was a lot being taken on at a time when things were pretty hectic! Maybe the nerves of performing live is a reason why Bush did not commit to acting and exploring that side but, despite some mixed reviews, I think there is a lot of promise in The Line, the Cross and the Curve. From a visual sense, the film is gorgeous and there are some spectacular moments! Even if Miranda Richardson provides steadier acting and dialogue, I do think there is potential in Bush’s acting and, if she was being led by another director, she would have turned in quite a sturdy and impressive performance. She was, despite some headaches, committed to her role, and it was a great learning experience. Here are some more details about the film:

“In this version of the tale, Bush plays a frustrated singer-dancer who is enticed by a mysterious woman (Richardson) into putting on a pair of magical ballet slippers. Once on her feet, the shoes start dancing on their own, and Bush's character (who is never referred to by name) must battle Richardson's character to free herself from the spell of the shoes. Her guide on this strange journey is played by Kemp.

The film premiered at the London Film Festival on 13 November 1993. Kate got up on stage before the screening to thank "everyone who'd been a part of making the film" and to speak of her trepidation because her opus was following a brilliant Wallace & Gromit animation by Aardman called 'The wrong trousers'. Subsequently, the film was released direct-to-video in most areas and was only a modest success. Soon after its release, Bush effectively dropped out of the public eye until her eighth studio album Aerial was released in November 2005.

Two years after UK release, due to the late promotion in the US, the film was nominated for the Long Form Music Video at the 1996 Grammy Awards. The film continues to be played in arthouse cinemas around the world, such as a screening at Hollywood Theatre in 2014 where the film was screened along with modern dance interpretations to Bush's music”.

One can never say never regarding Kate Bush and acting, but with such a stunning career under her belt, I could imagine Bush adding to that with some brilliant film and T.V. roles. It would have been amazing to think, because I have always associated Bush to be – through her videos and live performances – such a multifarious and striking performer.  If there had been film and T.V. acting roles between albums, it would have added another string…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Gered Mankowitz

TO her amazing bow!

FEATURE: The F-List: Making Music Festivals Gender-Balanced in 2021

FEATURE:

 

 

The F-List

IN THIS PHOTO: Charli XCX/PHOTO CREDIT: Griffin Lotz 

Making Music Festivals Gender-Balanced in 2021

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I have talked a lot about…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Redwood

the gender discrepancy at festivals and how, even last year, there was a huge imbalance regarding male and female artists. This year, before the pandemic struck, I was going to sort of say how we had turned a corner, as Glastonbury announced a line-up with more women than men for the first time; other festivals were at least moving closer to fifty-fifty. Look through the best and most popular albums of the past five years and you can see female artists scoring huge. Many of the brightest new artists around are women and, when you look at the best of what is around now and the most engaging artists coming through, there is more than enough talent to ensure that the majority of music festivals can be gender-equal. There is a document, the F-list, that has collated a directory of musicians that, fortunately, makes it impossible for festival organisers to avoid! This BBC article explains more:

“When festivals finally resume in 2021, the line-ups could be more gender balanced than ever before, thanks to a new database of female artists.

The F-list provides details of more than 4,500 musicians in all genres of music, and is free to use.

It was compiled by equality campaigner Vick Bain, who first uploaded it as a sprawling online spreadsheet.

The directory proved so popular that she has re-launched it as a fully-searchable, not-for-profit website.

IN THIS PHOTO: Annabel Grace Steele 

It aims to improve representation of women at all levels of the industry - from session musicians and arrangers, to producers and festival headliners.

"The problem for women in the UK music industry is they are still in the minority when it comes to professional work," Bain told BBC Radio 4's Today.

"Only 20% of musicians signed to record labels are women and about 15% of festival headliners are women. So they don't have much presence, professionally, even though they consist of nearly half of all music degree students."

The launch of the F-list website aims to correct that problem, while a concurrent community interest company will champion equality and diversity in the industry.

"We are going to raise awareness, we're going to create initiatives to help facilitate training and development, we are going to increase knowledge about gender inequality," said Bain. "We want to be a major authority for promoting women in music."

Sitar player Anoushka Shankar will be the inaugural president of the enterprise, having become aware of how gender imbalance impacted her own career.

"As a musician with 25 years in the industry, I have seen how women just aren't booked the same way as men," she told Mishal Husain.

"[And] I noticed that, even as a female artist and a self-proclaimed feminist, I was hiring way more male musicians than female and it was something I had to try and actively correct”.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Rina Sawayama/PHOTO CREDIT: Jess Farran for DIY

I have talked a lot about how it is inexcusable that we are still striving for equality at festivals given the incredible women in music. Just this year, stunning albums from Laura Marling, Nadine Shah, Dua Lipa, Fiona Apple, Waxahatchee, Charli XCX, Taylor Swift, Grimes, Rina Sawayama, Lady Gaga, Jessie Ware, Chloe x Halle, Hayley Williams, Megan Thee Stallion, and Kylie Minogue have dazzled critics. There are headliners in there and, at the very least, a huge range of sounds covered. There is argument from organisers and fans of some Rock festivals that there are not many women who can provide as hard a sound as male bands. That is patently not true and, from female-led bands like Amyl and The Sniffers, and Rews through to solo female artists, there is more than enough choice! The great newcomers of the past couple of years also provide plenty of food for thought – Arlo Parks is one of my standout artists from this year. It is not hard to balance festivals without compromising and losing quality. Back in February, Glastonbury’s Emily Eavis talked about her desire to create a fifty-fifty gender split - and it was not long after that the line-up or this year’s (proposed) Glastonbury went online with more women than men – a rare female headliner in the form of Taylor Swift too!

“Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis says the festival has to achieve a gender balanced line-up as soon as it can.

"Our future has to be 50/50," she tells Radio 1 Newsbeat.

"It's a challenge. Everyone's finding it hard - but the acts are there," she says, adding that past Glastonbury line-ups have "always been male-heavy".

IN THIS PHOTO: Emily Eavis/PHOTO CREDIT: Dave Benett

Her comments come after criticism that many festivals don't have enough female or female-fronted acts on their line-ups.

Emily was named godlike genius at the NME Awards in London, where Glastonbury was named best festival in the world.

"When I look back at past Glastonbury line-ups, I realised it's always been male heavy.

"Unless you consciously change and really address it, then it will stay the same because we're always going to be flooded with male acts".

There are no excuses now that the F-list is out and there is this catalogue of great women! That will only build and update as more and more great artists come through, so I think festivals that are especially lax when it comes to gender equality – Reading and Leeds must be near the top of the pile! – need to resolve to change their ways and push progression. Not only is the over-reliance on male artists boring and formulaic – the same acts booked time and time again -, but there are so many women and female-fronted acts that are being denied a platform! I am not sure what the state of play will be regarding festivals next year and whether there will be announcements soon, but I think Glastonbury are hoping to go ahead in June – whether it is with the same line-up as this year I am not sure. Festival organisers have plenty of time to plan and use the F-list as an invaluable glossary of names that they can borrow from when formulating a more gender-balanced, diverse and exciting line-up. This year has been awful, but next year has the potential to be a lot brighter; not just in music but in society in general. When it comes to music and festival line-ups, let’s hope that organisers reference the F-list hard so that, in 2021, we can see…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Amyl and The Sniffers

SOME real progress!

FEATURE: The Lockdown Playlist: Amazing Freddie Mercury Vocal Performances

FEATURE:

 

 

The Lockdown Playlist

PHOTO CREDIT: Peter Still/Redferns 

Amazing Freddie Mercury Vocal Performances

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TODAY (24th November) marks twenty-nine years…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Freddie Mercury with Queen/PHOTO CREDIT: Richard E. Aaron/Getty Images

since the world lost the remarkable Freddie Mercury. The Queen frontman has been responsible for some of the most powerful vocal performances in history. Although I was a little too young to remain Band Aid in 1985, few will forget the stunning set from Queen! Through the years with the band, Mercury helped bring the band to the masses. Although many find some of Queen’s lyrics a bity silly, Mercury elevated them and made them sound so important and grand! I am not sure whether there is a single performance of his that is better than the rest but, to mark the sad passing of one of the finest singers ever, I have compiled a selection of Freddie Mercury’s…

VERY best vocal turns.

FEATURE: Spotlight: Drug Store Romeos

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Spotlight

PHOTO CREDIT: Melanie Hyams 

Drug Store Romeos

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THE band take their name from…

the Tennessee Williams play, A Streetcar Named Desire and, whilst being based in Fleet, Hampshire might sound worlds away from that play and relevant quote (“No, I have the misfortune of being an English instructor. I attempt to instill a bunch of bobby-soxers and drugstore Romeos with a reverence for Hawthorne and Whitman and Poe!”), Drug Store Romeos are now based in London and looking to release their first E.P. I have been listening to their latest track, Jim, Let’s Play, and there is a mix of dreamy vocals and a hazy feel, combined with Trip-Hop beats and elastic strings. Even though they have not been going too long, the incredible three-piece have released some great tracks! I am going to bring in a few interviews so that the band themselves can give some insight, but I think that 2021 is going to be a good year for them! They would have hoped, having moved to London, that they could have gigged a lot this year and honed their skills but, with everything happening, that has been put on hold until next year. If you need a good introduction to Drug Store Romeos, then this interview from The Line of Best Fit from August provides detail:

“Hampshire itself is not so much notable for its vibrant youth culture as it is for its cricket pitches and (sort of) proximity to London, and after sitting down for a long and varied chat with Sarah, Charlie and Jonny from the band, it appears that they have shed the small-town mentality, if it ever existed at all.

 Referencing their inconspicuous musical upbringing, there is more than a hint of sarcasm in Charlie’s tone as he describes the “great music” which comprises the Hampshire music scene. The irony is compounded by reference to Fleet’s most notable venue, a library-cum-music-hall where Jonny recalls a time where, “they had the Bananas in Pyjamas do their thing”. Sarah interjects: “One time there was literally Harry Styles’ second cousin’s, best friend’s, sister’s dog and I saw it.”

Instead, the band found musical stimulation through interaction with each other. Jonny and Charlie are school friends, whilst Sarah completed the lineup later, in response to a Facebook advert: “They wanted a bassist and I wanted to be in a band.” For Sarah, the “obsession” to be in a band trumped any sort of concern. “I would meet up with random strangers online and then travel to like Portsmouth with a guitar,” she says. In this case, Sarah’s lack of proficiency on the bass guitar was remedied by the suitably rock and roll exchange of cigarettes for lessons with Jonny.

Gesturing towards new music and a potential unity in the sound, Charlie contends that the space between these distinct singles is where the rest of an impending album will occupy. What remains consistent in this exciting potential album is how the band collaborates, a process which itself involves its own quirks. This is no truer than in lyric writing, with words a medium of expression which the band unanimously agree is one of their sharpest musical tools”.

I think the group are going to find plenty of opportunities and gigs when venues reopen next year because, not only are they determined and passionate, but the music they are putting out is very different to anything else. I like the way they melt styles like Trip-Hop and Pop with something altogether theirs. Listen to a song like Quotations for Locations, and there are these hazy and soothing vocals that are slightly similar to The Sundays or even The Cardigans, combined with this backing that one might expect to hear scoring a song a lot heavier. That blend of emotions and weights makes their music so layered and nuanced. In an interview with DORK, Charlie from the band discussed the influence and under-use of Trip-Hop:

“Charlie adds: "I think trip-hop is an underutilised style in music because there are a few trip-hop bands like Portishead and Bowery Electric, but I think there is a massive hole where bands could use that drum style and the [same] kind of atmosphere, but use it [to make] like a three-minute pop version." He continues, "A lot of our songs aren't trip-hop really, so maybe it was a bit bold to put trip-hop in the title. We might back step from that." In a kind of defiance and sticking to the roots of how she joined the band in a 'fake it 'til you make it' kind of attitude, Sarah adds: "It sounds like a genre, so we've just got to make it."

In the same interview, the band talked about their path to where they are now. Many might assume they have just arrived from Fleet and have only been playing for a few months or so. They have had quite an eventful and busy past:

“To those who are hearing of Drug Store Romeos for the first time, it would be an easy mistake to assume that they are still in the toddler stages of their musical careers. In actuality, they've already had quite the ride. From cutting their teeth at The Five Bells in New Cross, to being the wedding band for a certain Breaking Bad actor – they've already played a plethora of gigs. But the most interesting of them all? A nursery. Charlie's mum invited the band into her classroom of two-year-old children, so that they could perform a post-punk rendition of 'Old McDonald Had a Farm' allowing the children to participate via a microphone that was hooked up to a delay pedal, and try their tiny hands at the instruments afterwards. (Yes, reader, they gave us a snippet of what it was like, and yes, it is just as magnificently bizarre as you're imagining.)

Charlie describes Drug Store Romeos as an "abstract, playful band". The kind of people that "think it's important that every day you look outside and think 'well, I'm alive!' and then everything you see, you're kind of appreciative of and excited by." Given that their supergroup would consist of Alex G on drums, Henry Rollins playing the harp, Skrillex shaking maracas through a distortion pedal, and Beyoncé on bass, it's safe to say that they have quite the eccentric imaginations”.

Drug Store Romeos are an original prospect and are going to, one would think, put out an E.P. soon that collects together their singles and adds in a couple of other gems. Like very artist I feature, I like to discover what their influences are and the type of acts that have compelled them. Looking at an interview from DIY, and that subject was raised:

“Who were some artists that inspired you when you were just starting out (and why)

Charlie: We were into bands like Beach Fossils, DIIV, Mac Demarco, Sunflower Bean, Wolf Alice and (Sandy) Alex G.

At 16 I decided that I wanted to feel the way that this type of music made me feel all the time. Especially when dealing with negative emotions I found it had strong healing powers that soothed the feelings vs amplifying them like punk did. The members of these bands were also pretty much all soft 22 year olds that we related to. Most of them came from a DIY bedroom perspective whilst being popular enough to tour the world playing to people our age. To us this was so enticing - to think maybe one day we could be at a similar level

Also clean guitars through Roland JC 120 amps sound...um... cool!

Musically or otherwise, what are you most looking forward to this year?

Charlie: We’re recording our album this year and I really can’t wait”.

I will wrap things up soon but, with an awesome new track out, they will be finding their music picked up by new people. I think Let’s Play, Jim is one of their strongest efforts, but one cannot ignore the previous two tracks, Frame of Reference, and Quotations for Locations. These are glistening cuts that exemplify and underline the confidence the trio have and the incredible sound that defines their work. In this interview, we get some more insight into two wonderful songs:

“Can you tell us more about the stories behind your singles ‘Frame of Reference’ and ‘Quotations for Locations’?

Charlie: Here are some tidbits that we haven’t shared before. For ‘Frame of Reference’, over the email we asked the mixer to make one sensible mix and another one that was an “experimental and sound changing mix in which it has a raw 70s/80s/90s new wave weirdo post punk power pop kinda feel.” Then when we went into his studio to listen to both mixes to finalise it, we decided to use the bass sound and the drum fill sound from the experimental mix and everything else from the sensible one. The backing echo synth is taken straight from the original demo. We spent a while in the mixing stage deciding between four different versions of the flanger effect on the synth that happens just before the drums come in!

For ‘Quotations for Locations’, the chorus lyrics were “Manny molovile sings like a madman” for about eight months until I decided to rewrite them whilst I was feeling depressed on Christmas. This was one of the first songs written in the time period in which we went from playing a show a week to none at all so that we could go completely in on ourselves. This song marked the change from our previous shoegazey indecipherable reverb vocal sound to us deciding that dry and upfront vocals were the direction that we wanted to head in”.

I shall leave things there but, in a year that has been a bit rubbish, there have been some real bright spots in music! Among the newer artists rising and putting together their earliest steps, Drug Store Romeos are among the finest. I am interested to see where they head from here and how their career pans out. I guess an E.P. might arrive next year and, when venues safely open, they can get out there and bring the songs to the stage. They already have quite a rosy and growing fanbase, and I am glad that their music is getting some decent airplay! I hope the band have a restful rest of 2020 and, looking ahead to next year, I think they will make some big steps. Follow Drug Store Romeos if you have not done already and show some love to…

A great young band.

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Follow Drug Store Romeos

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/drugstoreromeos/

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/DrugStoreRomeos

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/drugstoreromeosband/

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCV3a1gCmTYMlwRJTr-he-uQ

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7MMjkDVrjxW9iObeZeeejh

FEATURE: The Lockdown Playlist: Songs from the Forty Best-Selling Vinyl Albums of 2020

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The Lockdown Playlist

Songs from the Forty Best-Selling Vinyl Albums of 2020

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AS we are hearing in music news…

that vinyl sales have increased this year, it has made me think about the most popular albums on that format. As this article lets us know, there has been a blend of classic albums selling well and new releases competing:

“Topping the overall year-to-date list is Fleetwood Mac’s classic album Rumours. The record - released in 1977 - remains a popular choice on vinyl and regularly features in the weekly Official Vinyl Albums Chart Top 40. Just over 19,000 sales of the album have been logged on vinyl in the UK this year.

Other new releases that rank in the Top 10 best-sellers on vinyl this year include Harry Styles’ Fine Line (5), Lady Gaga’s Chromatica (6), and Fontaines DC’s A Hero's Death (7).

Further down, Scottish musician Gerry Cinnamon places 11th with his 2020 Number 1 album The Bonny, Biffy Clyro’s latest chart-topping collection A Celebration Of Endings is 13th, and Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia places 23rd. Rising British band Sports Team bow at 40 with their debut album Deep Down Happy”.

As the list of the forty best-selling vinyl albums has been announced (the chart positions are true as of 23rd November), I have compiled a Lockdown Playlist that takes songs from those albums (the only album I could not find on Spotify is 80s - Various Artists, but I have linked a song included on that album at the end; if there are any songs that cannot be played, then the playlist is here - and you can open the artist’s page and access the album there). As you can see and hear, there is a satisfying and eclectic mixture of the older…

IN THIS PHOTO: The cover of Lady Gaga’s 2020 album, Chromatica

AND the new.

FEATURE: Vinyl Corner: Fugees – The Score

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Vinyl Corner

Fugees – The Score

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I am surprised that I have not…

included this album in Vinyl Corner before! I was aware of the Fugees when they released their debut, Blunted on Reality, in 1994, and it as an album that did pretty well and got some great reviews. It is a tragedy to think that their breakthrough second album, The Score of 1996, was their last! This is an album that was a big part of my early life, and I recall hearing songs from the album in 1996 and being blown away! I would urge people to buy The Score on vinyl, as it is an essential purchase for anyone who loves great music. Not only is The Score and album that transformed Hip-Hop in the 1990s, but it is a varied and busy album that contains some great samples. We all know the big hits like Ready or Not, Fu-Gee-La, Killing Me Softly with His Song, and No Woman, No Cry (the latter two are covers), but I think every track from the album is a winner! There are a great mix of samples, but I especially love the fact Ready or Not contains samples of Boadicea by Enya, God Made Me Funky by The Headhunters, and an interpolation of Ready or Not, Here I Come (Can't Hide from Love) by The Delfonics! It is such a deep, detailed and inspiring album that, I think, showcased the M.C. skills of Lauryn Hill best.

She, Pras Michel, and Wyclef Jean would go on to have successful solo careers but, like the Fugees themselves, Hill’s solo career has been so brief! Her only solo album to date, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill of 1998, is, debatably, more important and influential than The Score - and one wonders when she will follow it up (if ever). Even though the Fugees only recorded two albums and disbanded by 2007, it was clear that the three members were bonded through The Score. It is reported that Hill was crying when delivering her lines to Ready or Not. The emotion of the song and the issues she and the other members were going through was clearly having an impact! One can feel real emotion and strength through the album. There are a variety of producers on The Score, and I think they each bring something to the plate and helped shape its eclectic nature and confidence. The blend of sampled melodies and live instruments makes the album so rich and interesting, and it is no surprise that The Score is considered one of the greatest Hip-Hop albums ever. I will bring in a couple of reviews but, through the years, journalists have explained the impact and legacy of The Score. In 2013, NME detailed why The Score is such a staggering and original record:

“At the time, Fugees (formerly Tranzlator Crew) were in their 20s – Lauryn Hill was just 21. They’ve described the recording process in interviews as relaxed and organic; you can’t hear the tension between Wyclef Jean and Hill that would lead to the band’s break up a year later. That’s not to say it’s all cupcakes and unicorns: ‘The Score’ contains grisly portraits of life in the ghetto. It’s a theatre of pandemonium, pain and pride shot with colour, dialogue, sound effects and some of the finest lyrics commited to tape. Hill herself saw it as:

“An audio film. It’s like how radio was back in the 1940s. It tells a story, and there are cuts and breaks in the music. It’s almost like a hip-hop version of ‘Tommy’, like what The Who did for rock music”.

Their approach to gender roles was revolutionary

The most potent difference about ‘The Score’? Gender. There are very few mixed sex hip-hop groups, and there are even fewer groups in which the female is centre stage. Exceptions – Digable Planets, Arrested Development and Juice Crew – didn’t break through the mainstream in the same way. The Black Eyed Peas are excluded for their disgraceful recent output. It’s refreshing to hear an album completely without sexism or misogyny. As a female hip-hop fan I often cringe at mentions of porno lyrics casting females as “pussies”, bitches, and nothing more. There’s no danger of that here. Hill’s narrative as a woman and her emotions are given space to breathe, most significantly in ‘Manifest’, a song about a guy who “stole the heart beating from my chest”, and ‘The Mask’, in which she takes on a guy trying it on in a nightclub. And, simply speaking, I like male voices, I like female voices – I want to hear them both at the same time.

The album also marked a departure from the commercial success of gangsta rap; it was alternative hip-hop, if you like, that challenged the perceived ideology of the genre. Pras makes it implicit in ‘The Mask’: “Well did you shoot him? Naw kid I didn’t have the balls, That’s when I realized I’m bumpin’ too much Biggie Smalls”.

Their references were colourful and weird

Obscure references punctuate ‘The Score’, setting it firmly in the 90s as a piece of historical art. From politicians (Clef compares Bill Clinton to Batman, for example) to Biblical references, scientific mentions to strange animals, and the miscellaneous mentions of Dick Van Dyke, Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals and Zsa Zsa Gabor, it’s a vibrant mix.

‘The Score’ is one of the finest albums ever made. There’s a poignancy to it as well; it was Fugees final record after a nasty break up. Afterwards, Hill made the extraordinary ‘Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’, Pras did ‘Ghetto Superstar’ and Jean’s recorded with The Rock and went for the Haiti president job. A 2005 tour received mixed reviews. The end of the Fugees embalms ‘The Score’ in 1996, protecting its legacy and integrity. It is, without doubt, one of the greatest albums ever made”.

There are interesting articles out there that provide story and background, and I would especially recommend an article from Pitchfork published in 2016. We get a retrospective view from those who worked on the album twenty years after its release - and it makes for very interesting and insightful reading. I will just bring in the one review, I think, for The Score, but it is one that sort of says it all. This is what AllMusic wrote when they reviewed the album:

“A breath of fresh air in the gangsta-dominated mid-'90s, the Fugees' breakthrough album, The Score, marked the beginning of a resurgence in alternative hip-hop. Its left-field, multi-platinum success proved there was a substantial untapped audience with an appreciation for rap music but little interest in thug life. The Score's eclecticism, social consciousness, and pop smarts drew millions of latent hip-hop listeners back into the fold, showing just how much the music had grown up.

It not only catapulted the Fugees into stardom, but also launched the productive solo careers of Wyclef Jean and Lauryn Hill, the latter of whom already ranks as one of the top female MCs of all time based on her work here. Not just a collection of individual talents, the Fugees' three MCs all share a crackling chemistry and a wide-ranging taste in music. Their strong fondness for smooth soul and reggae is underscored by the two hit covers given slight hip-hop makeovers (Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly With His Song" and Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry"). Even when they're not relying on easily recognizable tunes, their original material is powered by a raft of indelible hooks, especially the great "Fu-Gee-La"; there are also touches of blues and gospel, and the recognizable samples range from doo wop to Enya. Their protest tracks are often biting, yet tempered with pathos and humanity, whether they're attacking racial profiling among police ("The Beast"), the insecurity behind violent posturing ("Cowboys"), or the inability of many black people in the Western Hemisphere to trace their familial roots ("Family Business"). Yeah, the Chinese restaurant skit is a little dicey, but on the whole, The Score balances intelligence and accessibility with an easy assurance, and ranks as one of the most distinctive hip-hop albums of its era”.

The Score remains this staggering album that took Hip-Hop in a new direction and was so different to a lot of the harder-edged and far less intriguing music that was being made. It is amazing to think what the Fugees could have achieved if they recorded a third album, but one sort of got a glimpse listening to each of the members’ first solo albums. I think Lauryn Hill especially was really finding her voice and, on The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, she confirmed her place as one of the finest artists of her generation. Nearly twenty-five years after its release and The Score remains this wonderful, hugely significant album that I think everyone should buy on vinyl and…

REALLY treat themselves to!

FEATURE: The Lockdown Playlist: Christmas Come Early!

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The Lockdown Playlist

PHOTO CREDIT: @rpnickson

Christmas Come Early!

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I am going to put out a Christmas playlist…

 PHOTO CREDIT: @erwanhesry/Unsplash

nearer the big day of alternative Christmas songs but, as it has been a bad year and many people are readying themselves for Christmas now, I thought I would also start a bit early when it comes to the tunes! In this Lockdown Playlist, there are some known classics and some lesser-known and newer ones that I felt were worth covering. What I will do in the next playlist for Christmas is include songs that are sort of the anthesis of the romance and familial vibe of Christmas – these songs are just about celebrating the spirit of the time or yearning for someone or better times (for the most part). These songs, I hope, will bring some joy; there is a combination of the classic numbers and some that many people have not even heard - there are a few more emotive and melancholic moments thrown in for balance. Even though there is over a month to go until Christmas, I think we can agree that we all need a bit of Christmas cheer…

 PHOTO CREDIT: @frostroomhead/Unsplash

A little early.

FEATURE: Ran Tan Waltz: The Illustrated Kate Bush

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Ran Tan Waltz

ART CREDIT: Noelle McClanahan Broughton

The Illustrated Kate Bush

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THE title of this feature…

doesn’t really mean too much really, but I am running out of song-based titles - and Ran Tan Waltz will play a part in something I want to discuss later. I have covered a few different areas regarding Kate Bush projects and stuff that needs to be on the market that is not there already. I have already written about a possible podcast before and I am also keen to explore a documentary somewhere down the line. There are definite gaps in the market that could be usefully filled, but one area that is a little under-represented is books. There are some great Kate Bush books around already; from Under the Ivy: The Life & Music of Kate Bush by Graeme Thomson, to John Carder Bush’s KATE: Inside the Rainbow – her brother’s unique and loving visual documentation of her young life and career. There has not been much in the way of new books for quite a while. I know there is at least one scheduled for early next year. Here are some more details regarding Kate Bush On Track: Every Album, Every Song:

“Kate Bush started her career at the top, the spellbinding 'Wuthering Heights' giving her a number one hit single with her first release. Yet from there, artistically at least, the only way has been up. For while the sales of both singles and albums over the five decades since have had their peaks and troughs, every new release has seen Bush refuse to be boxed in by past success but instead continue to take the musical chances that have characterised her career from day one.

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in a promotional photo taken during her visit to Holland in spring 1978

 Across ten studio albums, including director's cut reassessments of two of them, and a live record of the 2014 Hammersmith Apollo residency, Kate Bush has constantly sought new ground, reinventing her sound time and again. She has often strayed from the commercial path of least resistance to examine the less travelled musical byways that have provided the inspiration for an extraordinary body of work, quite unlike anyone else's. With a string of platinum albums and hit singles to her credit, Kate's is a fascinating journey. This book examines her entire recorded catalogue from The Kick Inside through to Before The Dawn, hoovering up all the B-sides and the rarities along the way. It's a comprehensive guide to the extraordinary music of Kate Bush”.

Aside from that book coming out, I don’t think there is anything else planned at the moment. Max Browne was looking to release a book of photographs that he took of Bush during 1979’s The Tour of Life, and that would be fascinating to see if it ever comes to life. There were also plans for Gered Mankowitz to release a photobook, Symphony of You, around this time, but those plans were shelved – I am not sure whether it will ever see the light of day. A book of lyrics, How To Be Invisible, was published in 2018, and I think this is the most-recent book regarding Bush and her work.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush during the Hounds of Love era in 1985

Nobody really knows what is going to happen next year regarding projects around Kate Bush and whether she will release music herself, but I am interested in both Bush’s visual side in addition to her magnificent work. I feel a lot of people do not know about the sheer depth and scope of her music and career. One can see a lot of great photos in books like KATE: Inside the Rainbow, and it provides snapshots and illustration of who she was and how her music and personality entwined and evolved. I really love that book, and I also really like Graeme Thomson’s biography, as it is authoritative and deep. One gets to learn a lot about Bush as a child and at every turn of her career, and there is enough on the market, in book form, that gives you really good detail and depth. One book that I really like is Visualizing the Beatles: A Complete Graphic History of the World's Favorite Band, which is wonderful in the way it mixes great visuals and brings The Beatles’ music to life. For example, we get to learn the types of guitars the band played, how their style changed through the years; there are quotes and lyrics sprinkled in. I think The Illustrated Kate Bush would be a useful compendium. Similar to the book about The Beatles, there could be illustrations that looks at every single and its chart position; the fabulous and rare tracks (like Ran Tan Waltz), and Bush’s appearances on T.V. through the years. There could be graphs and illustrations regarding her dates for The Tour of Life, the various famous faces who attended 2014’s Before the Dawn, and the visual breakdown of that show in 1979.

Also, similar to the book that is coming out each year, there could be this section regarding each album and a song-by-song guide that has illustrations that bring various lyrics and facts to life. I like the idea of putting in various lyrics and unseen photos. Record Collector is bringing out a special edition dedicated to Kate Bush next month that looks at her collectables and memorabilia, a look at every album and some unseen photos, so a lot might be covered then. I think there is plenty of scope for addition and expansion. Hounds of Love’s The Ninth Wave is such a cinematic piece, and I like the idea of a chapter charting those songs and illustrating each moment of that suite – in a similar way, one could also do that with Aerial’s A Sky of Honey, as it is similar epic and immersive. From memorabilia and chart records through to innovations and various musicians and singers she has worked with, bringing that to life through charts and illustrations would be easier to absorb and digest, I think, than a longer biography. There are album cover designs and photos with great stories behind them, so they could be illustrated and annotated. There are so many great Kate Bush interviews that could be charted and exposed.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush during filming for The Line, the Cross and the Curve in 1993/PHOTO CREDIT: Guido Harari

I do think that the book coming out next year that explores every Bush album and track will be quite detailed but I wonder if, like Caroline Sullivan’s Madonna: Album by Album, there could be an integration of that idea in a Kate Bush book; in the sense that each album has a lot of story, detail and background – maybe the Kate Bush On Track: Every Album, Every Song will be great but not as comprehensive as possible. There is so much to explore when it comes to Bush’s long career, little-known details, biography, lyrics and so much more. Putting all that together in a hardback book that is beautiful and detailed, I think, would appeal to the fanbase and bring in new people – many discovering Bush and her music for the first time. This is another idea I am punting out there but, like a new podcast and a documentary, I do think that there is room and demand in the marketplace to have these out there! I look forward to the new book coming next year regarding her songs and albums – and how it explores them -, in addition to the much-anticipated Record Collector magazine that is arriving in December. I like what some magazines have done this year regarding Kate Bush’s music. MOJO ranked Bush’s best songs, and they also talked about her 1979 tour and residency in 2014. Another great aspect was the stories behind albums like Hounds of Love (1985) - and the terrific details laid out. Maybe The Illustrated Kate Bush could bring timelines to life and introduce great diagrams that includes all the pertinent date, but does it in a very captivating and easy-to-absorb manner. There are some great Kate Bush-related books that were published years ago worth seeking out such as Kate Bush: Complete Recordings Illustrated: Volume 1 (which is current out of print), but an up-to-date book that draws in everything fans want to know could, I feel, provide…

 QUITE a popular addition.

FEATURE: The Lockdown Playlist: Stunning Duets

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The Lockdown Playlist

IN THIS PHOTO: George Michael and Elton John 

Stunning Duets

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AS the Elton John album…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Brandy and Monica/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

Duets was released on 23rd November, 1993, I am marking that upcoming anniversary by putting together a Lockdown Playlist with some of the best duets ever – or ones that I just really like. This is dedicated to the great duets that are either fairly new to people or are legendary and need to be treasured. Many will have their own ideas as to the best duets around, but I think there is great a nice spread in this playlist. I hope that the assorted songs below help guide you to some songs you might not have been aware of and will also help to…

 IN THIS PHOTO: David Bowie and Freddie Mercury (Queen)

LIFT the mood.

FEATURE: Digital Vinyl: Sleevenote and the Physical Music Device

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Digital Vinyl

IN THIS PHOTO: Tom Vek has launched a Crowdfunder for a new playing device, Sleevenote/PHOTO CREDIT: Gabriel Green

Sleevenote and the Physical Music Device

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I am going to tie together…

 PHOTO CREDIT: @fixelgraphy/Unsplash

two different ideas and theories because, with music consumption becoming more digital and less tangible, I do yearn for those days of the physical music device. With Spotify and other streaming services not offering artists a great fee and slice of the pie, I do worry about the market and whether artists will forego streaming sites because of the payment discrepancies – larger artists who stream millions are alright, but most artists receive hardly anything. I have always preferred physical music because, not only do you feel more money goes to artists – though one feels the labels get a big cut -, but the listener experience feels purer and engaging. In a similar vein, I love physical devices and playing music through a turntable. One reason why I connected with music at such a young age is because the social connection and exposure came through sharing cassettes and listening to music in a physical form. I remember owning a cassette player/boombox and playing albums with friends. I know a lot of people listen to music through their phones, but I think there is a big difference between experiencing music that way and the old-style devices. Whilst it is not a return to the past and the days of listening to music through hardware, I am interested in any technology that can help bridge the reliance and need for digital music, together with cool new pieces of kit.

PHOTO CREDIT: Sleevenote/Tom Vek

I was reading NME a little while back. They covered the news regarding a new innovation from musician Tom Vek. Sleevenote sounds like a real interesting idea:

“After six years away, Tom Vek has been very busy indeed. Today, he unveils the fruits of his labour by dropping his surprise new album ‘New Symbols’ and unveiling a new music playing device that he’s designed, by launching the Crowdfunder for Sleevenote.

Described as a “visual hi-fi” device and “the music player for album lovers”, Sleevenote is a stand-alone music player that “brings hi-definition, full fidelity album artwork to digital music” and allows the listener to fully appreciate and engage with an album’s sleeve and visuals. He’s launched a crowdfunder today to find the first 1,000 people to buy a Sleevenote and get them into production.

Hello Tom. How do your new album and Sleevenote relate to each other?

Tom Vek: “Over the last few years I’ve been working as a designer and met a software developer. That’s what led to the Sleevenote project. The excitement of that coming together is what spurred me into getting the record finished. I was excited about it being so unusual for a musician, as my interests have grown into design and product design, because I need that extra excitement. When I was a teenager, releasing an album was the most exciting thing. Now I’m quite excited that the album is part of a bigger picture. I figured that I’m going to have to go crazy on Sleevenote marketing-wise – and I can’t say that I’m a recording artist if I haven’t released an album in six years!”

PHOTO CREDIT: @blockerphoto/Unsplash 

So, what does it do?

“It’s all about keeping each album’s identity going. When albums are presented inside a clean interface, it puts it behind a sheet of glass and inside a box to make for a more ‘tasteful’ user experience. Whereas with us, the character of the record is right up there and up front. It has interactive tracklist art where you tap the name of the song into the art to play it. That will be different for every album, so they’ll be in different places. We can also bring back the hidden track. Whoever made it so you could just see ‘hidden track’ on Spotify and iTunes, that’s such a joyless decision.”

And it’s just about the music?

“I like the idea of going back to listening to music on something that isn’t a multi-use device. You can just enjoy it without checking another feed or getting a notification or an email or whatever. It’s just an ideal setting for enjoying an album and getting lost in the art. You can look at this standalone thing and know that’s where your music is”.

In this feature with It’s Nice That, we get more details when it comes to the Sleevenote concept and what the physical product will actually consist:

“Album artwork has always been the handle, the grip to pin down the sort-of shapeshifting nature of music,” Vek tells It’s Nice That. “It’s like ‘that’s what it looks like, that album that has that song on it that I love’. The signifier is all-powerful, you see an album cover you like and it releases all these memories and feelings you have associated with the record, you can almost hear it.”

The device is square, almost the size of a 7” record, with a high-resolution display, designed to show covers in all their glory. It has a touch screen but also physical buttons on top, to keep the user interface away from the artwork. But the most important bit is the world of artwork it unlocks. The Sleevenote database already holds over 1,000 album covers and booklet artwork images, but Vek and his developer Chris Hipgrave have also built a platform for designers, labels and fans to upload album art. Once approved, it will automatically show up in the device and apps for everyone to enjoy. The player can also be used a “music vault” for your owned music, and supports streaming platforms Apple Music and Spotify, with more to be added on demand. It also uses Sleevenote API to source new artwork when requested.

“The crux of the product harks back to music and artwork being intrinsically linked. On the Indiegogo page, Vek says that digital music is “great for discovery but not so great for an immersive album experience” and that people usually listen to music on a multi-use device, where it competes for attention with other apps. In the transition to digital, album art has been “miniaturised and compromised” he says, and Sleevenote aims to lead “the digital album artwork revolution”.

On the £533 price tag he adds that prospective customers are “people with a certain amount of cash to invest in a cool bit of digital music tech, who have nice hi-fi gear, and also a nice bluetooth speaker, a Sonos setup, people who like minimal setups, who are digital-only, or still want a great place for stuff they can’t get on vinyl. If you like the idea of having friends over and saying “put some music on” and it being from your collection, not ‘hey find something, anything on Spotify’, or having those moments where you are like ‘what music I have liked?’, and actually liked, not what an algorithm thinks you will like. It’s great seeing the rise of Bandcamp, and I think it’s the perfect device for saying ‘I want to buy that album and get stuck into it, I’m going to put it somewhere valuable’”.

I do like the idea of Sleevenote and what Vek is trying to accomplish and, looking forward, I wonder whether there will be any other physical devices. I don’t necessarily like how there is so much reliance on the digital and, apart from vinyl, how often do we experience music physically? I think a lot of people who listen to C.D.s do so in their cars, and I wonder how many are listening to them through hi-fis.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @thanospal/Unsplash

I think we will see a decline in non-vinyl physical music in years to come as more and more people are either listening to music through streaming services and their phones or, when they do listen physically, it is through a record player – which are, obviously, fixed and you cannot take them with you. Sleevenote seems like a great way of experiencing an album and artwork in a similar way to those who listen to and digest vinyl. Not that I want a return to the past when music listening was entirely through devices, but I do miss that experience of hearing physical music on the go and having that sort of connection! Cassette sales are rising, and I think it more than mere nostalgia. Maybe people do feel unethical streaming or paying so little for music, but I reckon many just want a more human bond with music. The long-gone days of the mixtape seems strange when we consider the number of playlists that are around. I wonder whether anyone will make a device that maybe embraces a digital mixtape. I actually like the new boom of cassettes, and it would be great to see a modern version of the Walkman produced – I think it is quite hard to procedure Walkmans now! Similarly, iPods and Discmans have gone out of fashion and, when digital music started to take hold, there was a waning demand for physical devices.

 IN THIS PHOTO: The Sony Walkman TPS-L2 was first introduced in 1979

I feel the rise in people buying cassettes, vinyl and even C.D.s does signal that people want to listen to physical music. I think we would see a new generation experience music how I did – in a more physical and sociable way – if there was a resurgence in playing devices. Sleevenote, I think, is just the start of people coming up with new ways of staying current and modern but reconnecting people to the visual and physical aspect of music. Maybe it would not be a magic cure when it comes to funding artists and ensuring they are compensated, but I am fascinated by technology that looks forward but also takes us back. Maybe someone will invent a device that can combine vinyl and something more portable; perhaps a twenty-first century Walkman that also has a digital element, or a revitalisation of the iPod that would give people access to a digital library, but there would be new features (like Sleevenote) that expose and promulgate the importance of the album as an artform. I also like the concept of having a device that lets someone buy a song or album, but they can remix the song and isolate various tracks – a forensic approach to music where you can dissect songs and albums and maybe rearrange the track order. I am also still hooked on the romantic notion of a mixtape and whether a piece of kit could come about where one could buy tracks online from a device that would then instantly put them onto a cassette. I like the new-style SONY Walkman that, although not as evocative and special as the original, does at least keep the name alive. There are devices like Mighty that hooks the physical to the digital, and there are some good MP3 players around. There are not that many devices which encourage the use of C.D.s, cassettes and vinyl but bond it with digital technology – most of what is on the market is people streaming and downloading music and playing that through a device. I am interested to see what 2021 brings and, with great new releases like Sleevenote, I think more and more people will experience, explore and appreciate the album…

 IN THIS PHOTO: The MYMAHDI M350 MP3 Player

AS a physical format.

FEATURE: Take Your Best Shot: The Importance and Value of Music Photography

FEATURE:

 

 

Take Your Best Shot

PHOTO CREDIT: @andre_furtado/Unsplash 

The Importance and Value of Music Photography

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IT is clear that…

 PHOTO CREDIT: @aflynnn/Unsplash

without music photographers, there would really be no music journalism! The two go hand in hand. I have always respected photographers and, apart from an expensive bit of trouble earlier this year regarding use of an image on my site, my relationship with music photographers has been care-free and convivial – it is quite expensive clearing photos and those times when I have to pay for images have hit me hard (but that is the way it goes). My site does not make any money and there is no advertising so, for me, it can be quite tricky trying to stay afloat and include the content I want to. This year has been a rough one for everyone in the music industry, but I especially feel sorry for artists. They have really not been able to play live, and it is particularly tough for new artists coming through who might have been planning a busy 2020. Venues are closed so, when they do open next year, I think many are going to be booked up and it will mean acts who were hoping to get into the mix this year might have to wait until 2022! It is really tough, but the same can be said for music photographers. Unlike musicians, there is not really the option to do virtual gigs and find a way around the pandemic. I know they can still work and do what they do, but the whole industry has been hit hard and there is far less new photography out there.

I will talk about gigs and the importance of photography there but, on a basic level, artists require photographs so that they can get their faces seen and music spread. Even though I am not selling what I do and have any commercial ambition, I have had photographs taken professionally because it projects an image and people like to put a face to a name. Technology allows us all to take photos all of the time and add any filter we want, but I get sort of bothered when artists rely on these lo-fi and often scrappy images to promote themselves! I can appreciate how having photos taken is expensive and one cannot do it too often but the impact these images can make is amazing. Many artists will be featured in the press and on blogs; a great photo can hook people in and almost make or break an artist. I have turned down so many artists for interviews and reviews – back when I used to accept requests – based on slapdash and insignificant images; a few pretty bad photos and not a lot else. I have no patience for those artists who say that the ‘music does all the talking’, so, in their minds, they do not need photos taken. Those who feel that image quality is not important are wrong and, so often, I skate past an artist on social media because their photo portfolio is understocked and woeful. This is where photographers come in. Not only are they capturing an artist in a unique moment and helping them find an audience, but I think a relationship can be struck. Many artists use the same photographers because they feel at ease and like they are being represented in the best possible way.

A great shot can last as long as the music in terms of staying in the mind, and I love a great concept where the artist is brought to life and visualised in a way you would not imagine from their music. Prices do vary between photographers, but most are really reasonable - and artists need to think of it as an investment. Many bands cannot get close to one another at the moment, so fewer creative shots are being taken in this area. In a lot of cases it might not be until next year when new and established bands can get some images taken when they are close and have feel normal! There are great articles like this that underline the fact that, frequently, images arrive before the music does:

“Often times before your music is even heard, you’re seen. Whether this be in a record store, on social media, a flier, whatever. That’s just what it is.

High quality, professional imagery shows that you’re not willing to skimp on every detail. And that you’re taking the whole experience of your listeners into consideration.

Getting the attention of your listeners is important. Your music will for sure get their attention, but you want your first visual impression to be a good one.

Your music or whatever else you create is your art, letting other artists into your art with you can be a lot of fun and can expand what you’ve made into other mediums”.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @andre_furtado/Unsplash

We all know legendary photographers like RANKIN and Danny Clinch, and, through the years, there have been iconic images posted and shared of much-loved artists. It is impossible to properly explore music photography through the decades but, if you want a guide to good photographers of the moment, then articles like this and this give you some guidance. Historically, I think music photography has been vital when it comes to seeing artists in a new light. Often, interviews can be misleading, or artists do not really give much of themselves away. Photography, I think, allows them to be more open and natural. That is true today. One can get an impression of who an artist or band is through their music; you can listen or read interviews and that will go some way but, really, I think great photography can put artists at ease and paint more than a thousand words. One of my favourite photographers of the moment, Pooneh Ghana, is masterful when it comes to getting the best out of artists – and capturing those brilliant live shots! In an interview from 2017, Ghana was asked about her start and working in different mediums:

“When did you know you wanted to be a photographer? How did you get your start?

It was a very gradual thing that happened. In high school, I stumbled upon Lomography’s website and instantly fell in love with their cameras/films. I also loved the community of photographers on their website all sharing each other’s work and posting photography tips. It created a really inspiring atmosphere for me at that time. From there, I started shooting on a bunch of cheap film cameras I’d buy off the internet and take them to shows with me for fun.

IN THIS PHOTO: The Big Moon/PHOTO CREDIT: Pooneh Ghana

That was also around the same time I bought a Polaroid camera and started snapping polaroids of the bands I’d go see and meet at the shows. I did it all totally as a hobby at that time, without a photo pass or anything. I lived in San Antonio and would travel up to Austin almost every week to go to see a band. Or if it wasn’t Austin, I would plan a trip that involved either going to a bunch of shows or going to a festival. I started uploading my shots to Flickr, and really came to enjoy music photography more as I did it. I wanted to learn more and more about photography in general, things like developing film, which light modifiers to use, which lenses to buy, how to get into the photo pits at show, how to build a portfolio, etc. I think at some point I just figured that I love photography, live music, supporting the bands I love, traveling, and working on my own schedule, so let’s try to make this music photographer thing work!

What was the first camera you picked up? Do you still use it?

A Holga was the first camera I ever bought, but my dad’s Pentax K1000 was the first camera I ever picked up. I remember loving to play on it when I was kid, even though I had no idea what I was doing with it. I have a different Pentax now that I love shooting on, and the K1000 is still with my dad.

PHOTO CREDIT: @joshrocklage/Unsplash 

What’s the best part of shooting live music? What’s the best part of shooting portraits? Do you prefer one over the other?

I like both just as equally. With live music, you don’t really have control of your environment or what’s gonna happen while you’re shooting. All you can do is be alert during the performance and have your camera ready to capture those perfect moments and the energy of the room. On the opposite spectrum with portraits, you have complete control of what’s going on in the photo and of the subject. The lighting, setting, positioning of everyone in the shot, etc., can all typically be controlled and modified to bring an exact idea to life. I love the intimacy of shooting portraits as well. So I’d say live music and portraits both inspire a lot of creativity in shooting, but in completely different ways. Which is why I wouldn’t want to choose one over the other”.

If you are interested in becoming a music photographer then there are guides out there, and I think there is a greater demand now than ever. With so many new artists out there, I think good music photographers are a precious resource. It can be hard to make a good living from it at the start and, in a hard year like 2020, there are fewer opportunities for photographers. Whilst the cost of starting out even on a budget level can be quite expensive, I don’t think photographers should be put off.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @aljandro/Unsplash

There is less money available shooting live, but there are ways to make money. For many photographers, the main source of their income will be shooting portraits and albums/single covers. The value that photographers bring to artists is immense, and I think they are unsung heroes when it comes to pushing an artist’s music to new people and getting them recognised. A great visual spread online can make such a big difference in terms of marketing, and a perfect shot that catches your eye can draw you to the music and, from there, you are connected to that artist. One of the biggest loses of this year is live music and, with it, the lack of great live photography. Obviously, nearly everyone these days takes shots at gigs, and that has made it hard for a lot of photographers to compete. The expertise and undeniable quality that a professional brings to the table (as opposed fans) is huge! As this article explains, live photography is hugely important for artists:

“However, concert photography is way more than just taking you back into the concert you saw the other night, or a concert you saw ten years ago.  It is almost critical for any musician to have pictures taken of them at their shows. It is a form of promotion. Those pictures are what makes people WANT to attend a show because it “looked” fun, or epic.  Concert photography is also an art form. A form self expression. But also something that triggers the feelings of others. It affects the lives of others”.

I don’t think we should undervalue music photography and how important it is. Artists can photo themselves, but it is less likely to make an impression than the sort of invention and quality one gets from a professional. Let’s hope that things start to get back to normal next year and we can enjoy some brilliantly engaging live shots and portraits of new and existing artists. There have been some great images shot this year but, in a weird and limited year, not quite as many as usual. Music is important to us all and we all put so much stock in artists, but I really think that music photographers (and the role they play) should be…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Memory for life ↗/Unsplash

PUT in the spotlight.

FEATURE: From East Wickham Farm to Bracing the Snow: John Carder Bush’s KATE: Inside the Rainbow at Five

FEATURE:

 

 

From East Wickham Farm to Bracing the Snow

ALL PHOTOS: John Carder Bush (from his book, KATE: Inside the Rainbow)

John Carder Bush’s KATE: Inside the Rainbow at Five

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I am a little late marking…

the fifth anniversary of John Carder Bush’s KATE: Inside the Rainbow as that happened on 22nd October – so I am about a month out! Regardless, whilst others have not marked the anniversary, I think it is as important as any album anniversary and it is a significant work. Here are some details regarding the book:

“KATE: Inside the Rainbow is a collection of beautiful images from throughout Kate Bush’s career, taken by her brother, the photographer and writer John Carder Bush. It includes outtakes from classic album shoots and never-before-seen photographs from sessions including The Dreaming and Hounds of Love, as well as rare candid studio shots and behind-the-scenes stills from video sets, including ‘Army Dreamers’ and ‘Running Up that Hill’.

These stunning images will be accompanied by two new essays by John Carder Bush: From Cathy to Kate, describing in vibrant detail their shared childhood and the early, whirlwind days of Kate’s career, and Chasing the Shot, which vividly evokes John’s experience of photographing his sister”.

I would recommend that everyone buys the book, as it is great value for money and here are shots of Bush that nobody else had taken; a very real and revealing look at an artist through the years. I also wanted to mark KATE: Inside the Rainbow at five because, since 2015, there has not been another photo collection.  

There have been some magazine spreads which feature rare photos but, in terms of a good hardback that allows you to view a range of magnificent photos, then I think John Carder Bush’s book is best. It is a bit strange that there have not been other photo collections, and this is something I have raised before. Maybe it is the case that a lot of great images are press images and it would be hard to put them into a book, but there is Guido Harari’s The Kate Inside that is available – it is quite expensive, so not everyone can afford it. I would love to see another coffee table book with unseen photos, as there has been an absence considering how many terrific shots of Kate Bush there are. In any case, do go and investigate KATE: Inside the Rainbow, as one can see the affection and natural bond between brother and sister through the book. Rather than narrate every section of the book, I wanted to share a few personal highlights and pick up on some of the commentary and narration from John Carder Bush. In the opening, he inscribes “This book is for my sister, Kate, as a memoir shared inside the rainbow, and as ongoing thanks for the precious gift of a bow many years ago that led me to a path along which I am still travelling”.

The introduction explains how ordinary life transformed as Kate Bush became known: “During those years, it was though I was surrounded by a pulsating system of remarkable creativity – it actually felt as though I was living life from inside such a phenomenon”. I love the idea that there was this rainbow and sense of light that Kate brought to John and, in return, he tried to capture her at her truest. The book, Cathy, was published privately in 1986 – the reprint was announced in 2014, and Carder Bush explained how he could remember the details and photos like they were very recent. KATE: Inside the Rainbow is an updated and expanded chronicle of Kate Bush through her career. I like how John Carder Bush describes holidays in Ireland (their mother was Irish) and how the Irish side was quite vibrant, whereas the English side was pretty grey. The introduction shows us Kate Bush transforming from Cathy to the Kate; how there was always music, and, because of the English and Irish roots, there was a great mixture. Even though Kate took to the piano and would play often, none of the family felt it was the start of a prosperous career. I have written about this before but, in the book, John Carder Bush tells how Kate was part of the first generation where her parents were not trying to make them follow in their footsteps.

Despite that, there was fear (from her mother especially) that she was squandering her chance of further education by pursuing music and, with it, a safety and security that would have been very much on everyone in the family’s mind. There is great honesty and emotion in the introduction. He writes how, though friends noted how grown-up Kate was becoming, for him, “she was still little Cathy”. It is touching how Carder Bush notes that there was an exact moment – August 1974 – where he noticed his sister’s adult beauty blossoming. I wonder whether that spurred him to photograph her more and do so through her career, rather than just journal her childhood years. By then, Kate was sixteen, and it would only be a year until she stepped into a studio to record songs that would appear on her debut album, The Kick Inside. As Kate took up dance and mime, he could see her blossom and blaze this trail. The family relationship and dynamic changed when Wuthering Heights became a success, and there was this continuing bloom and transformation. I shall leave the introduction there, but one finds so much detail regarding the family and how martial arts was both important in regards a connection between Kate and her brother, and how it (kyudo especially) connects with photography.

There are some beautiful shots before we get to the first album where John Carder Bush was shooting promotional images. To see Kate Bush as a child through to her teens is revelatory and fascinating, and there is this affinity she has with the camera. She is never too relaxed or playing up to the camera. Instead, Bush is at ease but there is this magic that she projects that is hard to put into words. It is also worth remarking, before moving on, how there was a period between Kate Bush as a girl and when her career started when she hated having the camera pointed at her. Her early and middle teenage years was that period, and I guess there was this sense that it might seem intrusive to photograph her – which is why there are relatively few images of her from that time. John Carder Bush started photographing his sister professionally from October 1977 (just before her second album, Lionheart, came out), and he had never worked with colour photography up until that time. I wonder how John Carder Bush felt when seeing others photograph his sister and whether he was every uncomfortable. It must have been strange for him but, as he remarks in the book, people could always tell when a photo of Kate was his – “It may also have something to do with where the photos were taken: it was always where we were living”.

I will give a brief impression of each album but, starting with Never for Ever in 1980 – the first album of Bush’s where her brother became heavily involved -, and I like the description for the Babooshka single shoot. Carder Bush sanded and varnished the floor himself and, using a wide lens, he wanted to capture Kate and the body of the double bass (which we see her using in the video). We learn about the rehearsal time that went into videos like Army Dreamers, and one marvels at the variety and quality of the photos from 1980! My favourite are ones taken during breaks of the Army Dreamers video where Bush is seen with a young boy (an extra from the video) and an almost mother-son bond is present; others see her reading notes and having her make-up touched up. These candid and rare shots go way beyond the press photos and very structured photoshoots – just seeing this young songwriter in a way nobody else would have. The access John Carder Bush had meant we get so many great shots and, towards the end of the Never for Ever chapter, there are photos of Bush playing a violin; great ones of her and her (and John’s) brother Paddy, and one particularly striking one where she is outside and seen crouching underneath a brick archway. I am not sure where that was taken, but it is one of my favourite shots from that period.

The Dreaming was, as John Carder Bush noted, not what people who were expecting The Kick Inside got…but it ranks as “one of her most artistically daring” (albums). Carder Bush (I shall refer to John as such as to avoid confusion and, as I am not keen on addressing people by their first names, I will call Kate ‘Bush’) says – in the chapter for The Dreaming -, how he wished he’s learned to play instruments so he could be more involved with his sister’s music, perhaps, but his photo for the album cover is remarkable! I think the photos for this album are his finest to that point. In outtakes for the cover for the Sat in Your Lap single, Bush is in a dunce’s hat and looks solemnly to the floor; in another, she holds a globe in her hand. Again, one of my photo highlights from this chapter – like the candid one from Army Dreamers -, is Bush and a dancer/extra during the shoot of There Goes a Tenner where Bush is standing on his shoulders. It is a fantastic shot, and it can almost be seen as a metaphor for Bush’s growing career and how, though stepping into dangerous territory at times, she was climbing high and had this assuredness. Perhaps the most important chapter is when Hounds of Love came out in 1985. So far from when Carder Bush was photographing his sister as a child and this musical talent was emerging, she was now a star and creating music that few could have dreamed she had in her even a decade previous!

If the album cover seems natural and like it was easy to shoot, getting the two hounds (two big Weimaraners) still and comfortable was a chore! There are great outtakes where Bush is smiling because the dogs were moving around, but the album cover is the shot we get on KATE: Inside the Rainbow’s cover: one of these timeless images that underline’s Bush’s beauty and this almost effortless allure. The Pop music on Hounds of Love is, as Carder Bush notes, accessible yet “so incredibly heavy and insightful in its content” that one can listen over and not get bored. We get some detail regarding where the shots were taken and the process and, whilst Carder Bush gives credit the make-up team and others who were involved in the shots, he was the one who captured those final live moments and turned them into a still, immortal image. We see some wonderful stills from the Cloudbusting video shoot (as there was a lot of natural light over the hills of Oxford), and one can sense genuine pride when he talks about the single cover being this perfect moment. The shots for Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) are terrific, and not only are there stills from the video shoot, but images with Bush’s back to the camera as she has the song’s title written on her back. Carder Bush was mixing colour photos with black-and-white, and the images he took when the Hounds of Love (single) video was being filmed are brilliant – and, as Bush directed it, the brother was photographing his sister behind the camera and her composing her own images! The Hounds of Love section is one of the most full and vivid chapters of the book, and one of my all-time favourite images of Bush is her in black-and-white, on the floor with pearls in her hand. It is such a beautiful composition, and I really love the look she gives to the camera!

1986 is a year where Bush released her first greatest hits collection, The Whole Story, and it is unusual, I think, as original images were shot – normally, artists use archive photos or do not use photos at all. The black-and-white cover shot is Carder Bush’s favourite and, when that was being shot, his wife, Vivienne, was going into labour with his first son – it is so touching that his son was about to be born when he was capturing his sister and there was this combination of new and urgent life and stillness. In some ways, there are comparisons between the covers for The Dreaming, and The Sensual World where Bush’s mouth is the prime spot. In The Dreaming’s cover, we see a gold key on her tongue (it relates to the song, Houdini, where she/the heroine would slip the key to Houdini before a trick so he could then use it to unlock the bolt/chains), and there is a rose covering Bush’s mouth for The Sensual World. Both are gorgeous shots, but the fact the latter is in black-and-white not only differs from Carder Bush’s previous covers, but the eyes really stand out! Both the cover for the album and its eponymous single had colour alternatives, but we see the black-and-white used instead. The same is true for This Woman’s Work - and I wonder whether Carder Bush, subconsciously, was reverting back to the Cathy days and trying to capture his sister in a new (but familiar) way. My picture pick from the chapter is where there is a painted background (scribbles of green, orange, blue and pink) where Bush is sat on a chair and rests her chin on her right hand. It is such a beautiful shot and one where she provides this big smile.

I shall put The Red Shoes and Carder Bush’s shots after that album in the same passage but, four years after The Sensual World, we could hear and see Bush changing as an artist. It may be strange to say, but she does appear womanlier and different to how she looked during The Sensual World – maybe that is as a result of slight ageing, but she looks incredible! Even though The Red Shoes is the first album cover not to feature Bush, the famous pair of feet/red shoes took a while to get down! One might think ballet shoe shots look the same but, as Carder Bush remarked: “We were amazed that a pair of feet in ballet shoes could show such variety in what they had projected”. In spite of there being tragedy in the lives of Bush and her brother – their mother died in 1992 -, there was a lot of change and new beginnings. I think the photos from that time are gorgeous, and I especially love a picture of Bush at the piano with her eyes closed. Although there is a promotional shot of Bush for 50 Words for Snow in the book (I wonder why none were taken by Carder Bush for Aerial?!) – of her in fake fur and a hat looking into the distance -, the majority of the final shots are from the album, Director’s Cut – where Carder Bush thanks his son, Gavin, for “taking me by the hand into the digital age”.  

There are a couple of great colour photos – including one where Bush is wearing a green costume with a big white ruff – that are especially beautiful. One photo sees Bush pointing her finger out with a stern look on her face! I wonder what the motivation for the shot was and what they were trying to articulate. My favourite are two stunning black-and-white images. One is Bush hugging a cat (who looks straight at camera as she nuzzles him/her with her eyes closed), and it is a great composition – again, I wonder whether there was a particular angle (pardon the pun!). My favourite shot, I think, should have been the album cover. It is Bush holding up some camera film with scissors in her right hand as she - dressed in a white shirt, black tie and black gloves (like a Johnny Depp character) – examines the shots and prepares to make the cut (with some eyeliner and lipstick, she has this classic, smoky look that is stunning!). On the back cover, John Carder Bush remarks how every image “forms part of a golden thread”; storytelling has always been a part of Bush’s work and “it has been a privilege to capture these photographic illustrations that accompany these magical tales”. Aside from the press images that were taken in 2014 for Bush’s Before the Dawn residency, we have not seen any publicity or album photos since. I hope, if there is another studio album, we get this return of the brother-sister partnership, as the photos throughout KATE: inside the Rainbow are amazing!

From the girl at the family home looking relaxed and safe through to Bush dressed as a solider (Army Dreamers), a sword-wielding temptress (Babooshka), to her playing Peter Reich in the Cloudbusting video (as Donald Sutherland played her ‘father’, Wilhelm), we have seen this amazing transformation through the lens of her brother, John (or Jay, as Bush might have called him). Make sure you get the photobook as, five years after its release, I think it carries a lot of weight and is an essential piece of Kate Bush fan kit! The words are thoughtful and beautiful, and one gets these remarkable photos captured through the decades. I shall leave things there, but I was eager to return to a book that is very precious in my collection. Perhaps not as detailed and biographical as a biography, I feel the photos and Carder Bush’s notes give us a more intimate look at Kate Bush and (he explains) why she is so remarkable to shoot. I love the behind-the-scenes snaps, and they carry as much potency as Bush gazing into the camera for a single/album cover shoot. Even though these photos carry more emotional and personal significance to John Carder Bush, he allows the reader to witness these amazing shots and truly bring us…

INSIDE the rainbow.

FEATURE: Second Spin: Wild Beasts – Limbo, Panto

FEATURE:

 

Second Spin

 Wild Beasts – Limbo, Panto

___________

IN terms of the…

two types of albums that I feature on Second Spin – those that were underrated when they were released and those that are not talked about much now -, Wild Beasts’ debut album, Limbo, Panto, is one that was received well when it came out but, in terms of their cannon, I think other albums of theirs have gathered more love and play. Hayden Thorpe (vocals, guitar, piano), Ben Little (guitar), Tom Fleming (vocals, bass guitar) and Chris Talbot (drums, backing vocals) parted ways in 2017 but the Cumbrian band, formed in 2002, made a huge mark on music! The band released their first single, Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyants, on Bad Sneakers Records in November 2006, and it was an awesome introduction! I think a few people were a little unsure about the band based on that song, as Thorpe’s vocals are quite unusual and wild and, in terms of its lyrics and themes, it as very different to everything out there! Even though there would go on to release albums that were a bit more subtle and emotionally rich, I love the slightly untamed and eccentric nature of Limbo, Panto. Released on 16th June, 2008, many had already heard Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyants, but many others were coming fresh to the band. Look down the ten tracks and the titles definitely catch your eye! Albums such as Smother (2011), and Present Tense (2014) are miles away from Wild Beasts’ debut - and the song titles are a bit more traditional and less arresting.

Starting with Vigil for a Fuddy Duddy, before going onto The Club of Fathomless Love, one definitely projects a lot of different visions before hearing a note! The opening track features some exotic and intriguing lyrics – “Room a catacomb, this ghoul a balloon, with the breath/From beneath your breast, yes that is best” -, and Thorpe’s voice swoops and flies! One of the greatest aspects of Wild Beasts is how Hayden Thorpe’s high and more acrobatic register combines with Tom Fleming’s deeper and more grounded vocal. It is a key ingredient through the album and, whilst Fleming gets more spotlight on songs such as The Devil’s Crayon, and His Grinning Skull, most of the vocals are handled by Hayden Thorpe. Wild Beasts’ lyrics have always been more poetic and inventive than most, but I think they drew more from the heart and soul on later albums - whereas there is fiction, feverish imagination and more theatre on their debut. Maybe some critics were seeking something more relatable and restrained from the boys but, as I say, most critics were positive towards the album. I can appreciate how songs aren’t played a lot on the radio as they are very distinct and still sound unabashed and unique all these years later. Limbo, Panto is only ten tracks long, so it never goes on too much and, as such, I don’t think there are any weak moments. My favourite tracks employ Thorpe’s dexterous and beguiling lead and the band’s ability to talk about something ordinary in an extraordinary manner.

Consider a drama from the football terraces, Woebegone Wanderers, and some of the lyrics employed (“Darrell, my son the bastards won/We've been lumbered with losing life for far too long/The ground groans like the belly of a sleeping whale/Don't flinch an inch he'll be released on bail”). Thorpe groans, screams and dances through this song that, on paper, is quite well-trodden and cliché but, in the band’s hands, we get tension, criminality and something akin to an opera! The same can be said on the single, Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyants, which gallops along gleefully; She Purred, While I Grrred is Thorpe in full flight and, whilst the lyrics deal with matters of the heart, it is the wording and deployment that makes Wild Beasts’ music both florid and striking – “I die every day/to live every night/Under the industry of her want for me in our fusty foundry/Please no ceremony/I want she, I want she, no matrimony”. The Old Dog blends Thorpe and Fleming together and it is one of the less explosive and wild songs. Cheerio Chaps, Cheerio Goodbye closes the album in suitably gleeful and delirious style and, after ten tracks, one has witnessed so much and needs to take a breath before going back in! One minor criticism is that Tom Fleming does not get enough vocal employment and, whilst this would change later on, his vocals balance out Thorpe’s tones – which, at times, do need to be reigned in and controlled.

I remember buying Limbo, Panto when it came out in 2008 and listening to it a lot. Even though I prefer the more energetic and strange songs, I think there is a nice blend of the more subtle and calm as there is these big, dramatic numbers. The band are incredible throughout and definitely announced themselves as a proposition to watch! Some critics were taken aback by the album and how it is very unusual and full-on at times. I have a lot of love for Limbo, Panto, and it is interesting to see where the band would head on future albums (and mature). Whilst some prefer them when they are more musically experimental and less vocally bold, I think Limbo, Panto is their finest release, as it is an album that gets right in the brain from the first time you hear it and then keeps coming back! I will finish off soon, but I want to bring in a couple of reviews for the album. This is what AllMusic remarked in their review:

“When it comes to creativity, the Wild Beasts have an embarrassment of riches. The band's full-length debut, Limbo, Panto, is exotic, exciting, fascinating, and forced in equal measures. "Vigil for a Fuddy Duddy" opens the album by spotlighting the most divisive, and definitive, part of the band's music: singer/guitarist Hayden Thorpe's vocals. He careens from a warbling falsetto to a suave croon to a feral growl, sounding like a hybrid of Antony Hegarty, Tiny Tim, and Mika (with shades of Tiger Lillies howler Martyn Jacques and possibly Dame Edna to boot), not just during the course of one song, but sometimes within a single syllable.

It's an attention-getting sound, but it often crosses the line between distinctive and difficult, especially since Thorpe's fondness for wordy lyrics such as "don't render me the sorriest parody" and the Seuss-like internal rhymes and alliteration on "Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyants" and "Cheerio Chaps, Cheerio Goodbye" are already extremely stylized. However, Limbo, Panto is more than Thorpe's love-it-or-hate-it lightning rod of a voice. The rest of the Wild Beasts' music is relatively restrained but still far from conventional, fitting around Thorpe's vocals in more subtly unique ways. Relying mostly on a traditional guitar-bass-drums lineup (along with the occasional keyboard), the Wild Beasts evoke cabaret, vaudeville, jazz, disco, and Afro-pop, depending on their whims. "The Old Dog" could be a lost and very warped '70s pop single, while "Please Sir" fuses doo wop rhythms with chamber pop delicacy and "Woebegone Wanderers" flips from a disco strut to a carnivalesque oompah beat. Over the course of the album, the band's experiments teeter between genuinely intriguing music and just trying way too hard. "The Devil's Crayon" is excellent, with percolating guitars and lunging drums that come together in strangely graceful, romantic ways. This song and "His Grinning Skull" -- another standout that makes the lyric "I'll eat this young whelp's heart, I will" seem perfectly conversational -- feature bassist Tom Flemming's throaty vocals. "She Purred While I Grrred" is a highlight that is all Thorpe's, however; he sounds like he's in heat as he purrs and grrrs his way through the song's jungle-like carnality. These moments balance tracks like "The Club of Fathomless Love," where everything that is interesting about the band's music just sounds grating. In its own way, the Wild Beasts' volatile flamboyance is more difficult to embrace than an overtly dissonant experimental band's music, but that's just another way that this group sets itself apart from the rest of the pack -- and there's something very liberating about that, even if it's baffling at times”.

When they assessed the album, The Guardian remarked that Wild Beasts seem like a normal male Rock band on the surface but, when you listen to the music, their individuality and U.S.P. shows:

“Wild Beasts are that dread creature, the all-male guitar band, average age 21. Yet they are as like to the standard all-male guitar band as a peacock to a warthog. Limbo, Panto is an outrageously ostentatious album: think the lascivious court of Charles II, Victorian opium dens, 1930s cabaret, the Tiger Lillies' musical Shockheaded Peter and the New York club Studio 54 at its disco peak, and you'll get the flavour of their keeling theatricality. Though they sing of such laddish preoccupations as sex (Vigil for a Fuddy Duddy), booze (Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyants) and footie (Woebegone Wanderers), it's in a language - musical and verbal - as fiery and kaleidoscopic as a catherine wheel. Dominating proceedings is Hayden Thorpe's sordid falsetto. He's been compared with Antony Hegarty, but he's not that graceful, and whenever the album strives for melancholy stateliness it falls flat. But for every failure there is a song of such coruscating originality, it sends you reeling”.

If you have not heard Limbo, Panto, then I would recommend people investigate it as it is a fantastic album and one that is full of life and these wonderfully strange stories. In 2008, Wild Beasts lived up to their name with this remarkable record, but they displayed a lot of heart and soulfulness too. They would, as I said, go on to develop their sound and, in a way, smooth off some of the rougher edges. Their debut remains this remarkable album from a hugely talented band. The world had not witnessed anything like it back in 2008 and, twelve years later, I still think Limbo, Panto is…

SO different and heady.

FEATURE: A Buyer’s Guide: Part Thirty: Cocteau Twins

FEATURE:

 

 

A Buyer’s Guide

Part Thirty: Cocteau Twins

___________

FOR the thirtieth…

outing of A Buyer’s Guide, I am looking at the Cocteau Twins. The Dream-Pop band were formed in Grangemouth by Robin Guthrie (guitars, drum machine) and Will Heggie (bass), adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981 and replacing Heggie with multi-instrumentalist Simon Raymonde in 1983. The band disbanded in 1997 in part due to issues stemming from the disintegration of Fraser and Guthrie's romantic relationship. There was talk of Cocteau Twins reuniting to play Coachella in 2005, but Fraser did not want to perform on the same stage as Guthrtie. It is a shame that we will not see the band play together again but, from their fantastic debut of 1982, Garlands, to their final studio album of 1996, Milk & Kisses, they definitely left their mark! To celebrate a wonderful band, I have recommended the four Cocteau Twins albums to own; the one that is a little underrated in my view; their final studio album and, as always, a book that makes for useful reading. If you need some guidance regarding the wonderful back catalogue of Cocteau Twins, then have a look at…

THE guide below.

______________

The Four Essential Albums

 

Head Over Heels

Release Date: 31st October, 1983

Label: 4AD

Producers: Cocteau Twins/John Fryer

Standout Tracks: Five Ten Fiftyfold/Glass Candle Grenades/My Love Paramour

Buy: https://www.discogs.com/Cocteau-Twins-Head-Over-Heels/release/62108

Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/67aJJEfYLuRmxvKgvTilOq?si=_yJemma1RpuFObDeboyzyg

Review:

“Losing original member Heggie might at first have seemed a troubling blow, but in fact it allowed the duo of Fraser and Guthrie to transcend the darkened one-note gloom of Garlands with Head Over Heels. The album introduces a variety of different shadings and approaches to the incipient Cocteaus sound, pointing the band towards the exultant, elegant beauty of later releases. Opening number "When Mama Was Moth" demonstrates the new musical range nicely; Fraser's singing is much more upfront, while Guthrie creates a bewitching mix of dark guitar notes and sparkling keyboard tones, with percussion echoing in the background. Other songs, like the sax-accompanied "Five Ten Fiftyfold" and "The Tinderbox (Of a Heart)" reflect the more elaborate musical melancholy of the group, while still other cuts are downright sprightly. "Multifoiled" in particular is a charm, a jazzily-arranged number that lets Fraser do a bit of scatting (a perfect avenue for her lyrical approach!), while "In the Gold Dust Rush" mixes acoustic guitar drama into Fraser's swooping singing. Perhaps the two strongest numbers of all are: "Sugar Hiccup," mixing the mock choir effect the band would use elsewhere with both a lovely guitar line and singing; and "Musette and Drums," a massive, powerful collision of Guthrie's guitar at its loudest and most powerful and Fraser's singing at its most intense” – AllMusic

Choice Cut: In Our Angelhood

Treasure

Release Date: 1st November, 1984

Label: 4AD

Producer: Cocteau Twins

Standout Tracks: Lorelei/Pandora (for Cindy)/Aloysius

Buy: https://www.discogs.com/Cocteau-Twins-Treasure/master/5232

Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/5N2tixSCaFkwdtJIG0jQmi?si=CxLwi0cnRa6STpX9bSzWWQ

Review:

“The fact remains that despite a whole host of post-punk wannabes adopting the flange 'n' drum machine tactics of the Twins, no-one has ever come remotely close to emulating their sound. They are, possibly, the perfect example of a band who inhabit their own hermetically-sealed universe. Fraser's voice to resort to cliche, can only be described as unearthly. The swoops, ululations and delicate, whimsical, nursery rhyme-aliteration were coaxed out of her famously painful shyness by bathing them in the new wave Phil Spectorism's of the trio's production style of reverb, drenched in delay...in a cathedral. Like Spector, the Cocteaus never knew the meaning of restraint when it came to processing a sound. But on Treasure, the style, which could prove a little too muddy, repetitive and overlayed on previous albums, here benefits from better digital equipment and Raymonde's production skills. Witness the way that the opener (and ode to 4AD label boss, Ivo Watts-Russell), Ivo, builds from folky lullaby to something that probably set Kevin Shields on his merry way” – BBC

Choice Cut: Persephone

Victorialand

Release Date: 14th April, 1986

Label: 4AD

Producer: Cocteau Twins

Standout Tracks: Lazy Calm/Throughout the Dark Months of April and May/How to Bring a Blush to the Snow

Buy: https://www.discogs.com/Cocteau-Twins-Victorialand/master/5199

Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/6Zv1yOKTpAHX0S0qOv2HRu?si=u1QLTm1XSOODBJF7VOHrLQ

Review:

“With Raymonde taking a break to work on the second This Mortal Coil album, Fraser and Guthrie made up the Cocteaus for the first full-length follow-up to Treasure. Rather than trying for a full-band approach, Fraser and Guthrie instead created a much more simply beautiful effort, with a relaxed air to it. Rhythms are subtler, with bass and drum machine often totally eschewed in favor of Guthrie's delicate guitar filigrees and lush, produced textures. Fraser is, as always, in wonderfully fine voice; her words are quite indecipherable, but the feelings are no less strong for it. "Lazy Calm" starts things perfectly, as deep, heavily-treated guitar strums combine with a heavy flange and guest saxophone from Dif Juz member Richard Thomas. Other songs sparkle with a lovely vivaciousness. Far from being stereotypical arty music to sit around and be gloomy to, two pieces especially shine with a gentle energy: "Fluffy Tufts," with its many-layered ringing strings and Fraser's overdubbed vocals; and the joyful "Little Spacey," with a soft rhythm underlying more sheer electric loveliness. Guthrie adds heavy reverb and overdubbed lines to create the Cocteaus' wash on such songs as "Throughout the Dark Months of April and May" and "Feet Like Fins," the latter again featuring Thomas, this time on tablas. For all the sweet beauty of Victorialand, things end on a quietly dramatic note, but a dramatic one nonetheless. "The Thinner the Air" starts with treated piano and rather spooky guitar leads -- the mysterious soloing is especially wonderful -- while Fraser then sings with a slightly haunted feeling, concluding with slightly nervous wails. It's an unexpected but effective touch for this fine record” – AllMusic

Choice Cut: Feet-like Fins

Heaven or Las Vegas

Release Date: 17th September, 1990

Label: 4AD

Producer: Cocteau Twins

Standout Tracks: Cherry-coloured Funk/Iceblink Luck/I Wear Your Ring

Buy: https://www.discogs.com/Cocteau-Twins-Heaven-Or-Las-Vegas/master/5104

Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/37hHXJ7xas2Nb7Jbi8ip4E?si=B6B-XpZCSiiQYr5Cgetokg

Review:

“Instead, they turned all that turmoil and uncertainty into the best album of their career. Heaven or Las Vegas explodes in Technicolor from the first melty guitar chords on “Cherry-Coloured Funk”. Every note sounds like a new and richer shade of indigo and scarlet and violet than the previous one, and it doesn’t fade until closer “Frou-Frou Foxes in Midsummer Fires” descends into silence. If Blue Bell Knoll is spare and ambient, Heaven is supersaturated: lush without being vulgar, luxuriant without being indulgent. Tellingly, some lyrics bubble up to the surface, often loaded with personal meaning: “cherry,” “perfection,” “burn this madhouse down.” On a song called “Pitch the Baby”, ostensibly written for—or at least sung to—the couple’s infant daughter, Fraser repeats, “I’m so happy to care for you, I only want to love you,” as a sweet lullaby. We may not always be able to understand her lyrics, but that doesn’t mean they’re not important. In fact, her lyrics would never be more vital or confessional than they are on Heaven or Las Vegas, which lends the music added emotional and conceptual heft” – Pitchfork

Choice Cut: Heaven or Las Vegas

The Underrated Gem

 

Blue Bell Knoll

Release Date: 19th September, 1988

Label: 4AD

Producer: Cocteau Twins

Standout Tracks: Blue Bell Knoll/Carolyn's Fingers/Suckling the Mender

Buy: https://www.discogs.com/Cocteau-Twins-Blue-Bell-Knoll/master/5040

Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/7mP4JgeDNV56zXuBuvb2kI?si=fD2wAh8lRdGw61OPI8p3Uw

Review:

“On the other hand, its general dismissal by critics and fans as a lesser Cocteau Twins album may have less to do with the album itself and more to do with the fact that it is bookended by better and more ecstatically creative works. There are moments of disarming beauty on Blue Bell Knoll—the melting keyboards on “Cico Buff”, the lush vocal layering of “Athol-Brose”, the shooting-stars opening of “A Kissed Out Red Floatboat”, Raymonde’s syncopated bass trudge of “The Itchy Glowblo Blow”, the whatever that is at the end of “Spooning Good Singing Gum” (I think it might be a herd of lovelorn goats playing saxophones). But the standout is “Carolyn’s Fingers”, which would become the Cocteau Twins’ first American single. The band never utilized its rhythm section to better effect: Against Guthrie’s crisp guitar line, that churning momentum pushes Fraser’s vocals to greater and greater heights, her unexpected swoops and eloquently rolled consonants creating a bewildering indie-pop aria” – Pitchfork

Choice Cut: The Itchy Glowbo Blow

The Final Album

 

Milk & Kisses

Release Date: March 1996

Label: Fontana

Producers: Cocteau Twins

Standout Tracks: Tishbite/Calfskin Smack/Seekers Who are Lovers

Buy: https://www.discogs.com/Cocteau-Twins-Milk-Kisses/master/5318

Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/2xWjRAaO5qYhsJSxmJp1IK?si=I1ryzGtNR2yl18FB3PC-mA

Review:

“Throughout the '80s, Cocteau Twins created some of the most beautiful and innovative music of the decade. Liz Fraser's uncanny, gossamer voice and Robin Guthrie's shimmery guitar work both garnered acclaim and inspired bands. Milk & Kisses finds the band in a comfortable rut; they've created, and now perfected, a style of music so distinctive that there seems to be little recent creative growth. The result is a beautiful, lush, but somewhat dated and unengaging sounding album that tends to wash over the listener without making any real impact. It is, however, everything that a Cocteau Twins album promises; hypnotic, dreamy, awash in ethereal voices, and delicate, liquid guitars. "Tishbite" in particular delivers an accessible dream pop sound that sounds nice while it's playing but fails to have anything really memorable about it, a problem that plagues most of Milk & Kisses. "Half-Gifts," "Rilkean Heart," and "Treasure Hiding" have an airy, otherwordly prettiness to them -- but that's about it. Necessary for Cocteau Twins diehards and potentially interesting to those that have never heard the band before, Milk & Kisses says nothing, but says it beautifully” – AllMusic

Choice Cut: Violaine

The Cocteau Twins Book

 

The First Time I Heard Cocteau Twins

Authors: Scott Heim, Dean Garcia, Emily Franklin, Ian Masters, Harold Budd, Lincoln Fong, Guy Fixsen, Anka Wolbert, Mark Van Hoen and David Narcizo

Publication Date: 24th June, 2012

Publisher: Rosecliff Press

Synopsis:

“The First Time I Heard Cocteau Twins is Part II in an ongoing series where musicians and writers tell their stories of first hearing the music of an iconic artist or band. In this second volume (following the opening installment, which covered Joy Division / New Order), forty different musicians and writers remember their initial experiences hearing the seminal dreampop / post-punk band Cocteau Twins, a standout group from the legendary 4AD Records and favorite of radio personality John Peel. The Cocteau Twins hailed from Grangemouth, Scotland, and featured musicians Elizabeth Fraser, Robin Guthrie, and Simon Raymonde.

Contributors to the Cocteau Twins edition include musicians such as David Narcizo (Throwing Muses); Ian Masters (Pale Saints); pianist and Cocteau Twins collaborator Harold Budd; band collaborator and live guitarist Lincoln Fong; Pete Fijalkowski (Adorable); Anka Wolbert (Clan of Xymox); Sean "Grasshopper" Mackowiak (Mercury Rev); Meredith Meyer; Mark Van Hoen (Locust, Seefeel); Paul Anderson (Tram); Paul Elam (Fieldhead); Rebecca Coseboom (Halou, Stripmall Architecture); Michael Cottone (The Green Kingdom); Sarah Jaffe; Antony Ryan (Isan); Dean Garcia (Curve); Kurt Feldman (The Pains of Being Pure at Heart); Erik Blood; Annie Barker; John Loring (Fleeting Joys); Guy Fixsen (Laika and co-engineer for My Bloody Valentine); Emily Elhaj (Implodes); Carlo Van Putten (The Convent, White Rose Transmission); Eric Quach (thisquietarmy); Ryan Policky (A Shoreline Dream); Matthew Kelly (The Autumns); Steve Elkins (The Autumns); Ryan Lum (Lovespirals); Michael Savage (The Fauns); Amman Abbasi (The Abbasi Brothers); Eric Loveland Heath; Ben Mullins (Midwest Product); Keith Canisius; Michael McCabe and David Read (Coldharbourstores); and writers like Emily Franklin, Craig Laurance Gidney, Alistair McCartney; Tony Leuzzi; and Sommer Browning.

The "First Time I Heard" book series is edited by Scott Heim, a novelist (Mysterious Skin, We Disappear) who is also a longtime music fan. Other installments in the series (or those forthcoming soon) include books on Joy Division / New Order, David Bowie, The Smiths, Kate Bush, R.E.M., Kraftwerk, My Bloody Valentine, Abba, Roxy Music, The Pixies, and others” – Amazon.co.uk

Order: https://www.amazon.co.uk/First-Time-Heard-Cocteau-Twins-ebook/dp/B008EFC3ZI

FEATURE: Warm in the Heart, Cold to the Touch: Misty from Kate Bush’s 50 Words for Snow

FEATURE:

 

 

Warm in the Heart, Cold to the Touch

Misty from Kate Bush’s 50 Words for Snow

___________

BECAUSE Kate Bush’s 50 Words for Snow…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in a promotional image for 50 Words for Snow (2011)/PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush (from his book, KATE: Inside the Rainbow)

is nine today (21st November), I wanted to do my last song-specific feature regarding the album – through the months, I might pop back into the album for some inspiration. It does not seem that long ago that she released the album but, in 2011, we got a sublime tenth studio album from Bush. One would understand if Bush’s work lost some of its appeal and brilliance through the years but, on 50 Words for Snow, she was as beguiling and sensational as ever! I think her albums post-The Red Shoes (1993) are as accomplished and stunning as any she ever produced. The albums offer more space and atmosphere; Bush less dependant on shorter tracks and easy singles. Instead, there is more attention on allowing songs to expand and extend to elicit something beautiful as they unfurl. After Aerial’s sense of the natural world revealing itself through the course of a day – on the double album’s second disc, A Sky of Honey -, and Director’s Cut’s transformation of older tracks, Bush brought out an album that very much had the cold and beauty of winter at its heart. I have talked about various songs from 50 Words for Snow and how she brought in guest vocalists like Elton John, Stephen Fry, and Andy Fairweather-Low. I like how there are relatively few musicians on 50 Words for Snow, and how that creates necessary sparsity and space for these songs to emote.

At the core, I think, is Bush and her piano; almost like her revisiting albums like The Kick Inside, and Lionheart (both 1978) in that sense. With seven tracks on the album, none of them shorter than six minutes, I feel one can immerse themselves in these wonderful tales. Of course, snow is a central theme, and one of 50 Words for Snow’s finest tracks comes in the form of Misty. At 13:32, Misty is the longest song on the album, and, in fact, the longest song Bush has ever released on a studio album. She would not have really been able to do this earlier in her career I feel, as there was more desire for her to record shorter songs. Albums such as The Dreaming (1982), and Hounds of Love (1985) contained plenty of experimentation and drama, but 50 Words for Snow is an album where Bush created these magnificent mini-symphonies. Misty never feels too long or plods. With Bush on piano and vocal, Danny McIntosh on guitar, Danny Thompson on double bass, and Steve Gadd on percussion, there is this tight and small crew that bring this incredible song to life! On paper, Misty might sound like a mix of Raymond Briggs’ The Snowman and Madonna’s Erotica – the single from the album of the same name. Misty is a love song concerning a woman and a snowman, and rather than it being about Bush, it is about a general protagonist.

In this article from the Kate Bush Encyclopaedia, we get a couple of interview snippets where Bush talks about Misty:

“Well, I think in that particular song obviously there is a sexual encounter going on… (John Doran, 'A Demon In The Drift: Kate Bush Interviewed'. The Quietus, 2011)

It's a silly idea. But I hope that what has happened is that there's almost a sense of tenderness. I think it's quite a dark song. And so I hope that I've made it work. But in a lot of ways it shouldn't because... It's ridiculous, isn't it, the idea of the snowman visiting this woman and climbing into bed with her.

But I took him as a purely symbolic snowman, it was about...

No John, he's REAL (laughs). (BBC4 Radio, Front Row, 2011)”.

There is definite sensuality and steaminess to be found in the song but, rather than it being this intensely passionate song about an unusual and unconventional muse, I think it is more Bush having this child-like fascination with a  snowman; maybe reacting to how her son, Bertie, would built snowmen as she watched from the window. 50 Words for Snow has this very tangible sense of snow and the way it can transform a scene and people. I consider Misty to be an unofficial (if unusual) Christmas single, whereby we get images that are very much traditional and relatable.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 2011/PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush (from his book, KATE: Inside the Rainbow)

The opening verse is very much about the snow falling and the construction beginning: “Roll his body/Give him eyes/Make him smile for me/Give him life”. Rather than it being like The Snowman in terms of the narrative, there are twists and turns early on. The way the protagonist is injured (“My hand is bleeding, I run back inside”) and her window flies open would suggest something darker and gothic. In fact, after the snowman is built and the heroine retreats to her bedroom, the outside comes inside: “My bedroom fills with falling snow,/Should be a dream but I'm not sleepy/I see his snowy white face but I'm not afraid/He lies down beside me”. I really love how delicate and tender Bush’s piano is and, soon, we get Steve Gadd providing this gentle drumming that elicits the pitter-patter of snow, the beauty of the night and all the magic we associate with winter and Christmas – even though it is not a Christmas-set song, one can feel something Christmas-like in the air! This being Kate Bush, one is arrested by the lyrics and her storytelling. Not to bring it back to The Snowman, but there is a similar sense of loss and transient joy. Whether the protagonist was dreaming and imagining the snowman coming through her window, or whether it is a supernatural case of a snowman actually materialising, I am not too sure.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @mirakemppainen/Unsplash

The snowman lies beside her and feels so cold and, soon, this fully-formed and glistening being starts to dissolve and disappear: “His crooked mouth is full of dead leaves/Full of dead leaves, bits of twisted branches and frozen garden/crushed and stolen grasses from slumbering lawn/He is dissolving, dissolving before me and dawn will come soon”. I adore the composition and mood Bush and her musician summon through Misty. There is a brilliant combination of moodiness and deeper notes, together with Bush’s elongated and held vocals which provoke warmer, lighter images. There is a mixture of the child-like and adult in the song. At its heart is this woman who is awe-struck by the fascination of snow and creating this snowman, but there is also a sensualness and something more explicit: “Melting, melting, in my hand/Sunday morning/I can't find him/The sheets are soaking”. There is that desperation and plea as the snowman has gone – “Oh please can you help me?/He must be somewhere/Open window closing/Oh but wait, it's still snowing” -, but hope that he might be alive somewhere! Not many songwriters explore snow and its possibilities, but 50 Words for Snow is an album where this beautiful and sometimes oppressive weather is examined spectacularly through the album (apart from the closing track, Among Angels). Many critics highlighted Misty when reviewing 50 Words for Snow, and I think many were intrigued.

AllMusic were hooked and impressed: "Misty," the set's longest -- and strangest -- cut, is about a woman's very physical amorous tryst with, bizarrely, a snowman. Despite its unlikely premise, the grain of longing expressed in Bush's voice -- with bassist Danny Thompson underscoring it -- is convincing. Her jazz piano touches on Vince Guaraldi in its vamp. The subject is so possessed by the object of her desire, the morning's soaked but empty sheets propel her to a window ledge to seek her melted lover in the winter landscape”. The Guardian had this to say: “(“It devotes nearly 14 impossibly beautiful minutes to Misty, a song on which Bush imagines first building a snowman and then, well, humping him, with predictably unhappy consequences: "He is dissolving before me," she sings sadly, not the first lady in history to complain about an evening of passion coming to a premature conclusion”). Tthat blend of beauty and strangeness definitely makes the song a standout. Although Misty was not officially released as a single, there is a video for it and one does get this visual and physical sense of an odd rendezvous that actually packs an emotional punch! Even though 50 Words for Snow is less personal and autobiographical than Aerial, I think a lot of Bush’s memories go into the album. She was asked by The Quietus about where the centrepiece of snow originated from: “Did the snow theme come from an epiphany or a particular grain or idea? Was there one particular day when you happened to be in the snow…

KB: No. I don’t think there was much snow going on through the writing of this… it was more to do with my memories of snow I suppose and the exploration of the images that come with it”. She was also asked about the enticing Misty:

“Yeah, ‘Misty’, which has the reference to the girl's affair with a snowman, the wet sheets, the idea of him melting in her hands and on her bed. KB: Yeah. [massive pause] I’m sorry John, did you ask me a question? What was the question? I asked if there was a sexual undercurrent to this record, which is ostensibly quite childlike and innocent? KB: To that song, yeah. Yeah, because of the story that’s being told. But with the other tracks… I don’t know…”.

The cover for 50 Words for Snow sees a woman kissing a snowman and, whilst it might not be the best kiss you could imagine – quite cold and all sort of bits of twigs and ground in there! -, I think there is this wonderful romance and bond; a woman connecting with the beauty of snow and what it brings. As we get near to Christmas, I not only wanted to mark the anniversary of 50 Words for Snow, but to highlight one of its best songs. Bush herself has said how 50 Words for Snow is not a Christmas record, but I think Misty does elicit visions of that time. As I have compared the song to The Snowman, I always consider Misty to be a sort of Christmas single that never was – Bush did record Home for Christmas, which originally appeared in The Comic Strip Presents film, Wild Turkey,, on 24th December, 1992. I shall leave it there, but I wanted to highlight a wonderful and evocative song from 50 Words for Snow that I would urge people to listen to. It is a stirring, tender, peculiar and beautiful track that…

 PHOTO CREDIT: @aaronburden/Unsplash

WILL touch the heart.

FEATURE: The Lockdown Playlist: Steely Dan’s Gaucho at Forty: Brilliant Songs from Albums Released in 1980

FEATURE:

 

 

The Lockdown Playlist

Steely Dan’s Gaucho at Forty: Brilliant Songs from Albums Released in 1980

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WHILST the album did divide critics…

in 1980, I think Steely Dan’s follow-up from 1977’s Aja is a very strong album. Gaucho was released on 21st November, 1980, and it contains some of the band’s/duo’s (essentially Donald Fagen, the late Walter Becker and a rotating cast of musicians) best songs – including Hey Nineteen, Babylon Sisters, and Time Out of Mind. Steely Dan would soon split and they didn’t return with their eighth studio album, Two Against Nature, until 2000. To mark forty years of an underrated and important album, I wanted to put together a Lockdown Playlist with songs from other great albums that have turned/will turn forty this year. I know I have done a 1980 playlist before, but I wanted to go deeper into albums rather than putting out the obvious songs. To mark forty years of Steely Dan’s Gaucho, here are a couple of great tracks from that album and some awesome songs from…

ALBUMS released in 1980.

FEATURE: Too Good to Be Forgotten: Songs That Are Much More Than a Guilty Pleasure: The Corrs – So Young

FEATURE:

 

 

Too Good to Be Forgotten: Songs That Are Much More Than a Guilty Pleasure

The Corrs – So Young

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MAYBE I have been hogging the 1990s…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Sharon, Jim, Andrea and Caroline Corr/PHOTO CREDIT: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc

when it comes to this feature but, as I have often said, many people associate the decade with this sort of flawless sound, when in actual fact there are songs that divide people – though the decade is the strongest we have ever seen for music! I may trip back to the 1960s for the next edition of this feature, but I wanted to include a band that many of us would have encountered back in the ‘90s. The Corrs consist of Andrea, Sharon, Caroline, and Jim. They hail from County Louth, Ireland. The band are still going and their most recent studio album, Jupiter Calling, was released back in 2017. Jim Corr has been in the news for, maybe, the wrong reasons – regarding his views about vaccines -, and I am not sure what his sisters think - though one can’t judge the band on one member alone! Regardless of Jim’s divisive views, I have a lot of love for a group that I encountered when their debut came out. In 1995, Forgiven, Not Forgotten was released, and it was an album that took me by surprise. I loved the sound of Pop-Rock mixed with Irish tones that was pretty exciting for a music lover who had not heard a lot of music like that previously. As I always say with this feature: there are really no guilty pleasures and I think the aim here is to dispel the notion that certain music and artists should be considered as such.

That said, there was a split in my school’s playground regarding The Corrs’ music and whether it was considered cool or not. Some felt that it was a guilty pleasure but, from their debut on, they established themselves as one of the most interesting groups around. I especially love the vocal blends of the sisters, and there is a real affection and connection in the group. That debut contained the huge hit, Runaway, and, whilst many felt a bit guilty liking it, it remains a beautiful track that one cannot help fall for. Skip ahead to their breakthrough album of 1997, Talk on Corners, and it was a year when I faced tragedy. Not only was the nation rocked by the death of Princess Diana, but I lost a school friend and, at the age of fourteen, I had not experienced anything like this. It was a hard time for many people at school, and I think music was a tonic and distraction. So many tracks and artists from that year made me feel better at a tragic time, and The Corrs can be included in the list. I think I bought Talk on Corners when it came out, as it was being heavily promoted - and tracks such as Only When I Sleep, and What Can I Do were in heavy rotation. Perhaps the best-known song from that album is a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams and, at a time when that song has been in the news because of a TikTok video that was then followed by responses from Mick Fleetwood and Stevie Nicks (of the band), I think some people were unsure whether The Corrs’ version was equal to the original back in 1997.

I adore Stevie Nicks’ (she wrote the song) original, and it is one of my favourite songs ever. The Corrs did a worthy version and they definitely made the song their own – the fact it reached the top-ten in the U.K. and was added to a re-released edition of Talk on Corners proves people loved it! I was a fan of The Corrs from the start, and I never subscribed to this notion that bands like that in the 1990s were a guilty pleasure or should divide people. The decade was so vibrant and diverse, and the fact the band are still going today shows their fanbase is loyal; they have crossed the generations and resonated with a whole host of new people. I think, back in 1997, Andrea Corr was a big musical crush and I was generally smitten with The Corrs (less so with Jim; nothing personal). What really got to me in a hard year was the beauty and sense of comfort Talk on Corners provided. At a time when we do not really have vocal groups and bands who harmonise sublimely, Talk on Corners seems like a bit of a blast from the past! One song I wanted to highlight was So Young. Even if, I think, What Can I Do is my choice cut from the album, I think So Young divided more people when I was at school – I feel it is a song that, sadly, many adults today might feel a bit guilty about enjoying.

I really love the story behind So Young. It was written by Sharon Corr and is a song about her parents, Jean and Gerry Corr, who she believed were ‘forever young’. The band initially had to fight with their label to include the song on the album; a decision vindicated by its popularity. The lyrics, to me in 1997 (though the single was released in 1998), definitely made an impression and helped lift my mood. I love the infectiousness of the track and how anyone could approach it and feel better and infused! It is one of those songs that is very much of the ‘90s, but I don’t think it sounds dated at all. Talk on Corners is an album that requires re-examination and new listens as it is packed with great tracks. Maybe the comparative lack of fiddles and instruments like the bodhrán brought more people in, though the traditional Irish sounds are a huge reason why I love The Corrs. So Young is sparser in terms of its composition and it relies on the vocal blends and that real sense of authenticity and delivery. The Corrs give their heart to So Young, and it was a song that was played on the radio a lot when it came out. Even though the original version of the song is brilliant, a remixed version proved even more popular.

The K-Klass remix contains an extra section for the first verse, which was deleted from the album version for unexplained reasons (on the demo version, both the first and second verses were constructed as a single long verse, with the extra verse serving as the second shorter verse). Since May 1998, the band have performed the song with the extra verse included. There was a lot of that going on in the ‘90s whereby popular songs were given a remix and then they found a new lease of life – I am thinking especially of Norman Cook (Fatboy Slim) transforming Cornershop’s Brimful of Asha. I am glad that The Corrs are back. In 2015, they returned with White Light and they spoke about what it was like coming back after a decade apart. When they split after 2005’s Home, many did not expect them to return at all. Andrea put out two solo albums, Ten Feet High (2007), and Lifelines (2011), and Sharon put out Dream of You (2010), and The Same Sun (2013). I hope the band carry on, as there is nobody out there who sounds like them. I wanted to revisit So Young, as it is one of many peals from the brilliant Talk on Corners. Far from it being a guilty pleasure, The Corrs’ smash is a terrific song that will give many people energy and positivity today. Even though So Young was released as a single back in 1998, all these years later, it is a song that is…

STILL very much in my head.